Historic Commission

Tuesday, January 18, 2022 I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. Present in person: Nancy Flannery (Chair), Joe Szczepaniak (Vice Chair), Linda Moran, Bob Purdy, Lisa Buchanan Present virtual: Steph McGrath (Secretary) Absent: Emelie Engling Public Comments: Bob Goldsborough II. Approval of Minutes Minutes of the December 21, 2021 meeting approved as amended on a motion by Joe, seconded by Bob, and passed unanimously. III. Old Business A. Landmark properties: Nancy has drafted a letter to those property owners who have not had Pride in Preservation signs in the past to see if they would like to display one, and will send it out soon. B. Lectures: Chicago Aurora & Elgin will probably be in June or July, looking for possible venues. Fires of Wheaton will probably be in May at the Wheaton Public Library, although still need to verify that venue. C. GIS project: Lisa is going through everyone’s suggestions. Discussed whether to include demolished landmarks; most liked the idea, so decided to keep in. Any replacement photos will need to be kept proportional. For Longfellow School it would be nice to have photos of both the original building and later additions. Grote Reber house, add photo of moved house now at 117 N. Ellis. Should clarify that photos taken by Nancy are free to use, but others would need to get permission from source, like DuPage County Historical Museum, which has a rights and reproductions policy. The letter to property owners looks good; invite them to submit additional information. Can update the map project later, to include architectural style. Discussed how to identify styles, from having a contest by students or done by a knowledgeable expert. Discussed PR ideas to promote the project. Should see if it could be added to the Wheaton Public Library’s local history page. Question raised as to how searchable it will be for researchers. D. Attorney General’s case: All parties charged have filed their attorney’s names. E. Guide to Wheaton Sources: Nancy sent around the 2015 version which lists the contact person for historic tax records, who is still on staff at the County for questions. F. Historic Commission purpose: Discussed conducting a survey of historically and architecturally significant properties, structures and areas. Should be professionally done, like the Northside Residential Overlay District was, not by volunteers on commission. Wondering about the status of our updated statement. The Mayor is proposing term limits of 2 years for chair position. Discussed whether the City was going to term limits for elected officials, or just boards and commissions. Bob Goldsborough gave the terms of office for a number of recent City mayors for context. IV. New Business A. The Northern Illinois Historic League was added back to our page of local partners. Discussed various historical organizations and how they vary in focus and purpose. V. Commissioner Comments Joe: Likes the new local history page on the Wheaton Public Library website. Steph: Helping another property owner with home history research. Bob Goldsborough: Thinks the Commission has a really full agenda and a lot going on. VI. Adjournment Bob moved to adjourn, Linda seconded, the motion passed unanimously; the meeting concluded at 8:25 p.m.