HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 6/3/2003 - Landmark Commission The City of McHenry Landmark Commission Meeting Minutes
June 3, 2003
The meeting was called to order at 7:23 PM by Pat Schafer at the McHenry Municipal Center.
Members present: Marya Dixon, Merle Janssen, Pat Schafer, Dawn Johnson, Gretchen Thomas
and Sue Hendrickson Greg Lofgren. Members absent: Ilene Wiedemann, Lori Wilhelm, Karen
James.
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Guests Present: Gerhard Rosenberg
April 1, 2003 Meeting Minutes: Gretchen Thomas moved to approve the minutes of the April
1, 2003 meeting. Greg Lofgren seconded no discussions and the motion carried.
May 13, 2003 Meeting Minutes: There was no quorum for this meeting, therefore a summary
of items discussed by members present was written.
Treasurer's Report April 1,2003: Marya Dixon moved to approve the April 1, 2003 _
treasurer's report. Merle Janssen seconded no discussion and the motion carried.
Treasurer's Report May 13,2003: Gretchen Thomas moved to approve the May 13, 2003
treasurer's report. Marya Dixon seconded no discussion and the motion carried.
Façade Grant Report April 1,2003: Gretchen Thomas moved to approve the Façade Grant
Report, Greg Lofgren seconded,there was no discussion and the motion carried.
Façade Grant Report May 13,2003: Marya Dixon moved to approve the Façade Grant Report
for May 13, 2003, Gretchen Thomas seconded no discussion and the motion carried
Business:
Petersen Barn and Silos: Greg Lofgren reported that he is still waiting to hear from Parks and
Rec regarding the protection of the silos as well as the equipment from the Krumholz property
that we requested to be stored on the Petersen Farm. The commission drafted a list of ideas to
present to the P&R department in regards to the security and use of all the buildings on the farm.
Greg will compile this list and make a presentation to Pete Merkel on the commission's behalf.
Coloring Book: Congratulations to everyone that participated in this project. Although it was a
moderate success, new ideas were suggested by Gretchen Thomas for the next edition. The first
idea would be more active participation with the third grade teachers; and a possible third grade
assembly at each school for the certificate presentation to participating students. The third grade
artists were invited to the municipal center on May 10, 2003 for a presentation of certificates of
appreciation for their participation of Historic Preservation Week. Not many students came,
however Mayor Althoff, and a number of aldermen showed up for pictures with the students.
The commission feels that this project will be increasing better over the next few years and that
is was a positive influence on the students and parents to highlight the history of McHenry.
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CLG: Dawn Johnson reported that some members and city staff were present during a meeting
with Catherine O'Connor from the Ill. Preservation Agency in Springfield. Gretchen Thomas,
Marya Dixon, Dawn Johnson, Pat Schafer, along with Joe Napalitano and Doug Martin had a
meeting with Catherine on April 30, 2003. It was reported that a number of changes should be
made to our current city ordinance. This would strengthen the passage of our application to the
state for a membership in the CLG. A number of the items in question were discussed and will
be reviewed further by members. Greg Lofgren will compare two ordinances that the
commission currently is in possession of to determine which one is correct version. Dawn
Johnson will create a spreadsheet of items in question by the state utilizing their model ordinance
and the correct version of McHenry's. This item will be tabled until Greg Lofgren's
determination is made.
Dawn Johnson also noted that Catherine provided a computer disk with the format already in
place for the resident and business survey's to be converted to. Gretchen Thomas volunteered to
assist her with the project.
Historic District Survey: It was determined that the newsletter to the survey reply's be,tabled
until the ordinance changes have been made and approved by the city council. Gretchen Thomas
and Marya Dixon created alternative boundaries to the proposed historic district It is smaller,
with a greater number of homeowners that support the district being in place. The commission
reviewed the new boundaries and approved the change. The following motion was made:
Greg Lofgren moved to revise the current proposed Main Street Historic District with the newly
proposed boundaries located on Exhibit A. "Exhibit A"being an updated map of the boundaries
created by Gretchen Thomas and Marya Dixon. This would be the first phase in establishing the
creation of the Main Street Historic District, with the intent of expanding the boundaries in the future.
It was noted that after the ordinance changed have been approved by the city council, a public
hearing will be scheduled for the new district. In the mean time commissioners will be preparing
to speak with residents located within the boundaries to answer questions and concerns and talk
with those that didn't respond to the recent survey. Gretchen Thomas suggested that the public
meeting be held at the local church on Main Street in early October. A new map of the proposed
district will be created by Sue Hendrickson with assistance by Doug Martin.
Resident Interview Forms: Marya Dixon reported that she received a reply from resident Bill
Nye a copy of the interview form was sent to him and he will be prepared to give an oral
interview in the near future. It was noted that Ilene Wiedemann should be present for the
interview and therefore it will be scheduled for early fall after her return from Germany. A
number of other prospective residents were discussed and a few more of the interview forms will
be going out to them soon.
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Sub Committee Reports:
Plaguing: Any plaguing for buildings in McHenry will be put on hold until the ordinance
changes are complete and in place. Application for honorary plaques now will require actual
designation applications under the ordinance. Gretchen Thomas and Greg Lofgren will work on
streamlining the process. No further honorary plaques will be issued.
Walking Tour Brochures: Marya Dixon and Gretchen Thomas will continue with the draft of
the brochure. It will then be passed along to Dawn Johnson for design completion. It was noted
that on the Chamber of Commerce handout the Young house was missed. As it turned out,this
property was never previously noted. It will be corrected on the new brochure and any future
maps for McHenry. Pat Schafer will contact the current owner and send our apologies for the
error.
New Business:
Thank you notes: It was noted by Pat Schafer that a number of thank you notes should be sent
to various people. She suggested to the commission that Dawn Johnson design thank you notes
with the commission logo. The following motion was made:
Gretchen Thomas moved that the commission secretary obtain proper note paper and design
official thank you notes to be distributed as required by the commission. Merle Janssen
seconded no further discussion and the motion carried
McHenry County Preservation meeting: Pat Schafer reported that Nancy Fike offered to have
the commission host the September 24, 2003 meeting at the McHenry Masonic Temple. The
following motion was made:
Sue Hendrickson moved that the commission host the County Preservation Meeting at the
McHenry Masonic Temple on 9/24/03 at 7:30pm. Marya Dixon seconded no further discussion
and the motion carried
Greg Lofgren offered to assemble a report on the history of the Masonic Temple building that
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Cemetery Walk: Pat Schafer reported that the cemetery walk will be conducted on September
13, 2003. The commission believes that the Woodlawn Cemetery on Richmond Road would be
a good site. She is working to obtain a listing of residents that are buried there; when this is
obtained the commission will compile a listing of preferred residents that should be highlighted
for the walk.
Chamber of Commerce: The application for a booth at Fiesta Days, Art in the Park for July
19t1, 2003 will be submitted by Dawn Johnson by June 4, 2003. All members will participate in
running the booth; a schedule will be created at a later date. It was also noted that Colin
Schultheis will also be available to sign copies of the Historic Coloring Book.
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Video Project: Dawn Johnson reported that she has a friend that is a professional videographer
that would be happy to convert our slides, and those borrowed from the county, to video and
disk. This would be a side job for her contact, therefore he will come in at or under the budget
the commission has set aside for this project. The commission discussed a number of points and
determined that this would be a good project for the winter months. Dawn Johnson and Greg
Lofgren will work on the items needed for the project in the fall. Dawn Johnson will update her
contact.
Addition Discussions:
Pat Schafer reported that she spoke with the new owner of the property recently sold on the
corner of Broad and Richmond Roads. He was interested in the history of the structure. She also
reported that Mike Chambers contacted her regarding his building, the McHenry Power Plant
building on the N.E. corner of Riverside and Pearl. He is interested in obtaining a façade grant
application. Pat will instruct him to go to the city clerk's office for that.
Pat Schafer submitted a history that she received from Ruth Wohnrade on the Krumholz
property. It included a short bio along with a current picture of the property. It will be kept in
our permanent files.
It was noted that Greg Lofgren was officially reinstated as a voting member of the Landmark
Commission by the Mayor and city council. Congratulations and welcome back Greg!
It was noted that Gerhard Rosenberg has submitted his application for a voting membership on
the Landmark Commission. While the commission awaits his official appointment by the Mayor
and city council Gerhard will become an active member of the commission without voting
power. We welcome Gerhard and look forward benefiting from his insight and experience.
Greg Lofgren motioned to adjourn, Pat Schafer seconded no discussion and the motion carried.
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