Historic Commission

Minutes of the City of Wheaton Historic Commission June 21, 2016 Meeting Held at City Hall, Wheaton, Illinois Attendance- Present: Barbara Dutton, Nancy Flannery, Maureen Fogerty, Tom Kay, Steph McGrath, Frank Principe. Absent- Emelie Engling, Greg Morrison. There were no public comments The meeting was called to order at 7:06 pm. The minutes of the May 3, 2016 meeting were approved following a motion by Steph, seconded by Maureen, and passed unanimously. Old Business -Summer Events update: The commission reviewed plans for the 25th anniversary event. It was decided against June or July date and an August, September or October date will be considered —even though the Commission was created earlier in the year, the first meeting was not held until fall. It was suggested to expand the invitations beyond the past and present Commission members, possibly to include current landmark property owners, and any interested public. We could possibly have some sort of giveaways like Pride in Preservation magnets or badges, pop up map of historic site bollards, etc. The commission is not planning on any formal program but thought it would be nice to have remarks by the mayor and an ongoing powerpoint slideshow of landmark properties. The Memorial Park Senior Center including reserving the park seemed the best choice of venue based on cost and amenities, but Nancy still needs to check out some details. -Report on Preservation Month: Nancy reported that attendance was lower this year than in past years, which may be due to the PR used this year; the commission will need to reconsider next year’s PR. At future events we might use sign in sheets and include the question re: where did they hear about event to help us plan. We now have an official Facebook page which we can use for PR. There were some problems with the Pride in Preservation signs: some went up too soon, some stayed up too long, some were not collected by persons responsible. Nancy reminded the commission that we need to follow the schedule and pay attention to our assigned lists. -New Commissioners: We are still looking for one new member, and will have a second opening in September due to Greg Morrison’s decision not to renew his term on the commission. -Wheaton Endangered List: Creation of an endangered list was discussed. It appeared that there is also a local desire for a website/Facebook page that can advocate in ways that wouldn’t be appropriate on our official site like promoting historic properties for sale in town, or highlighting endangered historic properties. This list would overlap with our interests but not be directly affiliated. It was pointed out that other local facebook pages exist for Wheaton. -Old Projects: Railroad bollard – Steph reported that she has requested alternate designs but was told that the company is backed up by an overloaded design department. Nancy called for volunteers who will help find a location to put the railroad sign. Barbara reported that there is still no update on progress/status of the bike map featuring historic local sites. New Business -Election of Officers: Chair—Nancy (moved by Steph, Maureen seconded, passed unanimously); Vice Chair—Barb (moved by Maureen, Frank seconded, passed unanimously); Scribe: Steph (moved by Maureen, Tom seconded, passed unanimously); permanent Ex-Officio Status for Trent (moved by Steph, Maureen seconded, passed unanimously). -Annual Report: Nancy passed around copies of our draft annual report. Frank suggested adding a future project to recognize Wheaton’s contributions to WW1; this addition was moved by Tom, Maureen seconded, and passed unanimously. Nancy will make the change and submit our annual report to the City. -The library has asked if we would help with planning a series of historic talks to be given at WPL. We would find speakers and help underwrite costs. We would need to clear this with the City. Their Friends group funds many of their programs and help plan speakers. They book programs 6 months in advance. -Financial report: there is about $3,000 available. Commissioner Comments -Tom complimented the plans we’ve made. -Frank trying to contact the leasing agent for the Warren Wheaton home, hoping to take interior photos. -Barb looks forward to learning about the Alcoa Aluminum house as she writes its landmark synopsis. Adjournment Maureen moved, Tom seconded, the motion passed unanimously, and the meeting concluded at 8:45 pm. Next Meeting: Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at 7:00 pm, City Hall