Historic Commission

Minutes of the City of Wheaton Historic Commission April 18, 2017 Meeting Held at City Hall, Wheaton, Illinois Attendance Present: Barbara Dutton (Vice Chair), Emelie Engling, Nancy Flannery (Chair), Tom Kay, Steph McGrath (Secretary), Frank Principe Absent: Maureen Fogerty The meeting was called to order at 7:07 pm. Public comment Visitor present: Robert Purdy Approval of Minutes Minutes of the March 21, 2017 meeting were approved as amended following a motion by Tom, seconded by Frank, and passed unanimously. Old Business -New Commissioner Candidate Robert Purdy introduced himself, reviewing his background in marketing, his work with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and heritage tourism and his skills’ relevance to the Historic Commission. He has completed research on his historic house and shared his landmark application as further proof of his appropriate skills. In turn, commissioners shared some of our current activities and concerns. -Preservation Crisis Update On April 18, 2017 the Warren Wheaton house was sold for office use by Dr. Bryan Bauer, DDS, and his wife, Dr. Danielle Bauer, DDS, Wheaton dentists. Nancy has sent them information regarding the historic significance of the property, but has not yet had a reply. As for the Seven Gables house, there are a number of people actively seeking quotes for saving and moving the structure. -Railroad Bollard Sign The sign company provided a full sized copy of the current draft so we can take it to the depot and check possible mounting sites. It still needs some text and design tweaks due to the reworking, but has the right look and size to gauge placement. -Preservation Month 2017 Publicity that has been done for Preservation Month was reviewed; Nancy announced that activities have been posted on the City’s website. Nancy reported that Maureen did a good job on the Wheaton Insider program promoting Preservation Month. Nancy informed the Commission that Maureen has added a new project on WW1 animals in service designed for children and their families. This talk will be held at the Wheaton Public Library. The Commission discussed the possible use of Herrick poems during the Honoring Wheaton’s WWI Heroes talk on May 18th. Nancy passed out this year’s Pride in Preservation sign maps for distribution. Nancy asked for flyer distribution volunteers. Frank volunteered to help. Nancy informed the Commission that Mayor Gresk will issue a proclamation for Preservation Month at the May 1st city council meeting. -Wheaton Downtown Design Review meeting The Downtown Design Review Board met about the Ron's TV/Wheaton Pharmacy building at 132 W. Liberty. On behalf of the Historic Commission, as our charge is to create an awareness of historic Wheaton, Steph requested they show a photo of the structure with the original terracotta in place. That way the public via video and board members could see what the building had looked like originally. The Planning Department nicely complied and projected the image on the wall at the start of the meeting, and had a copy for each member. The owner had looked into restoring the terra cotta ornament, but it was too expensive. They removed some of the overlaid panels to see how much of the relief had been removed when the building was renovated in the 1970s. However, what they do plan to do won't harm what remnant is left, so perhaps someday the building can be returned to its former glory. Having the old photo displayed help set the tone of historic appreciation and incorporated the issue of historic preservation into the meeting. -Miscellaneous & Future Projects Emelie shared an idea for Wheaton Legacy Recipes. The Commission talked about acquiring a library of local history books for our use, for when library copies are inaccessible -New Commissioner Robert Purdy left the meeting and his application was discussed. Barb moved to accept his application, Emelie seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. -Center for History Collections Update At last month’s meeting, John Prendiville, Wheaton City Council member, was asked if the Wheaton Public Library’s past offer to house the archival collections was still valid, and he indicated that it wasn’t. Nancy checked with the library director and learned that it is indeed still on offer. The only stipulation was the City would need to fund a position to manage the collection. At last meeting John Prendiville asked the Commission to explore and identify Wheaton citizens interested in helping set up or rebuild a Wheaton historical society. New Business Nancy reminded the Commission that June is annual report month. She asked the Commissioners to send her any items they wish to include in the annual report. The application to Wheaton Register of Historic Places: 803 N Scott Street was distributed for initial review. We are in a new budget year. Commissioner Comments Frank reviewed the Early History of Glen Ellyn program he attended and asked about a local time capsule once displayed at the Memorial Park band shell. Barb mentioned a Landmarks IL preservation stories screening on Ottawa. Emelie enjoyed Easter dinner at the Jesse Wheaton house and felt the awesome historic presence Adjournment Steph moved, Frank seconded, the motion passed unanimously, and the meeting concluded at 9:21 pm. Next Meeting: Tuesday, May 16 at 7:00 pm, City Hall