Historic Commission

APPROVED Minutes of Wheaton Historic Commission March 17, 2015 Meeting at Wheaton City Hall, Wheaton, Ill. In attendance: Nancy Flannery (Chair), Trent Nichols (Vice Chair), Tom Kay, Emelie Engling, Steph McGrath, Greg Morrison, and Barbara Dutton (Secretary). Absent: Bob Shuster Public comment: Frank Principe brought a book on Wheaton buildings and inquired about the Commission’s ordinance and mission. The meeting was called to order by Nancy at 7:05p.m. Minutes of the February 2015 meeting were approved following a motion made by Trent and seconded by Emelie. Old Business Preservation Week: In an update on plans for Preservation Week 2015 Steph related that a set of times for home history research has been established with the Library: The will be held the afternoon of Saturday, May 9th, and the evening of Monday, May 11th, and half-hour appointments are suggested. Another event is being considered for Sat. May 23, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nancy said she will issue a press release on the research resource, and also that she intends to submit a landmark application on her home, which was a General Electric display house. Tom recalled a house on E. Willow being built to a Better Homes and Gardens design. Nancy reported that an investigation of trolley options for a potential history tour found that rental is expensive on Saturday because of wedding demand. A three-hour block of time was quoted to be $80/hour by one vendor. Such an event, she indicated, would need a theme, route and narrator established. Steph recalled that such tours used to “piggy back” the Cream of Wheaton event, and that without a crowd assembled, the cost of securing a trolley might not be cost effective. Also, it was noted, that a tour represents a time commitment for participants. Although it sounds like a possibly wonderful fit in Preservation Week, mused Nancy, the idea is “off the table” for consideration for this year’s event. The bike tour is a possibility, however, and it is to be ascertained as to what the Environmental Improvement Commission might suggest. Emelie brought up liability issues for organized events. The suggestion was made by Trent to offer Matt Seymour, who spoke during last year’s Preservation Week, a fee to do another talk on architect Edward Dart. Nancy said she’d be willing to host an open house at her Dart home. Trent thought such an event might serve as an occasion to award landmark status to the house should a nomination of the house be submitted and approved. Mention was made of seeking information about developer Graeme Stewart, as well as looking into whether another house of the era might also be featured. Trent offered to check with the Wheaton Grand Theater group to see if they’d be willing to “open their doors” during preservation week. Steph reported that Bob Goldsboro offered to help publicize such an event. The idea was mentioned of having the theater open one weekend day, and the bicycle tour the other weekend day. Trent announced that he is hosting an Energy Impact Illinois house party. Steph thought a program on home energy savings for older homes might make a good Preservation Week lecture. Nancy has requested railroad imagery from the DuPage County History Museum and will contact West Chicago. She’s asked the former about walking tours and is waiting to hear back. Free parking at Cantigny during Preservation Week for Wheaton residents has been confirmed. The Friends of Pioneer Cemeteries, who host a Memorial event in May, was cited. Nancy mentioned the potential opportunity to host the May meeting of the Suburban Chicago Preservation Alliance (affiliated with Landmarks Illinois). The idea was discussed of seeing whether the Wheaton Grand might be a venue for the event, which could perhaps be held on May 9th. Bob is to distribute handbills for the Maas lecture. Nancy thinks we need to develop a bollard site brochure. It was decided that Preservation Week 2015 need no theme other than “Pride in Preservation.” APPROVED Website: Greg submitted new content to Gary White at the City, and reports that it is now up on the City website. Also, he said that Gary’s staff is to videotape the Moss lecture for local cable TV, and perhaps the video can be streamed through the website. Greg will explore the format for potential streaming. Historic Bicycle Tour: Barbara expressed appreciation for research direction and resources from Steph. After write- ups are produced, Barbara would like someone else on the Historic Commission to review them before they are turned over to Nancy Allured of the Environmental Improvement Commission. Nancy of the Historic Commission confirmed Scout troop interest in passing out maps as a community project. Steph asked if the Park District might be a “partner” in the map effort. She also noted that the map would be available online. Wheaton Register: Nancy asked about the list of addresses and dates of landmark properties. Steph thought including the style of architecture might be helpful, as well as listing any prominent residents. Trent is working on the certificate design; Nancy will send around proposed wording for Commissioners’ review. Steph recommended that the certificates be printed on archival paper. A request was made to a lawyer regarding application information, and a response is awaited. Bollards: Nancy thought funds allotted the Commission might be used for the purchase of more bollards. Steph introduced a motion to purchase three new bollards. The motion was seconded by Greg, and approved by Commission vote. Nancy will order the bollards. Future themes were discussed. Commissioner Comments Barbara related that she attended as a member of the McKee Preservation Group a meeting of the Glen Ellyn Park District board, at which a presentation was given about plans to restore the house and potential community use. Greg motioned to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Steph, the motion was approved by vote, and the meeting concluded at 8:50 p.m.