ELGIN HERITAGE COMMISSION Tuesday, June 5, 2018 7:00Pm City
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ELGIN HERITAGE COMMISSION Tuesday, June 5, 2018 7:00pm City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor North Tower 150 Dexter Court, Elgin, IL 60120 AGENDA A. Call Meeting to Order and Roll Call B. Approval of Minutes 1. April 3, 2018 C. Recognize Persons Present D. Plaque Applications 1. 101 Monroe Avenue E. Old Business 1. Reports from Neighborhood Groups on Heritage Related Activities 2. 2018 Elgin Heritage Commission Goals a. Directional Signage, 2018 (a) Update b. Historic Resources Survey (a) Update c. Web Based App (a) Photographs/Audio (i) Update d. Elgin Historic District and Landmark Design Guidelines (a) No update e. Preservation Month Recap (a) Participants at each event (b) Thank you to all volunteers – Mayor’s Awards F. New Business 1. Review Hanover Township signage for Civil War General John S. Wilcox at Bluff City Cemetery (Thomas Kuttenberg) 2. Presentation on update to 1999 Mail Order House Research by Rebecca Hunter 3. EHC Appointments/Term Expirations G. Other Business H. Adjournment THE CITY OF ELGIN IS SUBJECT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990. INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES WHO PLAN TO ATTEND THIS MEETING AND WHO REQUIRED CERTAIN ACCOMMODATIONS IN ORDER TO ALLOW THEM TO OBSERVE AND/OR PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING, OR WHO HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE MEETING OR THE FACILITIES, ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT, ADA COORDINATOR AT (847) 931-5620 {TDD (847) 931-5616} PROMPTLY TO ALLOW THE CITY OF ELGIN TO MAKE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THOSE PERSONS. City of Elgin Elgin Heritage Commission April 3, 2018 Proposed Minutes A. The meeting of the Elgin Heritage Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers by Chairman John Wiedmeyer. 1. Members Present: Brian Anderson, Kimberly Bauer, John Marston, Scott Savel, Judith Van Dusen, Tom Krebsbach, George Rowe and John Wiedmeyer 2. Members Absent: Steven Thoren 3. Others Present: None 4. City Staff Present: Christen Sundquist, Historic Preservation Planner B. Approval of Minutes: 1. A motion was made by Commissioner Savel to approve the March 6, 2018 minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Anderson. The motion passed 7-0-1 (Krebsbach abstained). C. Recognize Persons Present: None D. Plaque applications: 1. None E. Old Business 1. Reports from Neighborhood Groups on Heritage Related Activities a. Commissioner Rowe announced that recently, on March 31st, there was a volunteer cleanup at the Nancy Kimball House located at 302 W. Chicago Street. He anticipates that there may be another cleanup day prior to the Open Elgin event to be held on Saturday, April 21st. b. Commissioner Rowe shared historic images from Fire Barn No. 5, one of which included a rare image of the Elgin Tower Building being constructed. c. Commissioner Anderson reminded everyone of the upcoming Mid-Century Bike Tour that will be held on May 10th as one of the Preservation Month events. d. Commissioner Bauer stated that the Schweikher House, located in Schaumburg, was recently mentioned in a blog post by the National Trust. Bauer is the historian for the house museum. 2. 2018 Elgin Heritage Commission Goals a. Historic District Signage No update Elgin Heritage Commission: Minutes Page 2 April 3, 2018 b. Historic Resources Survey No update c. Web Based App a) Photographs: Due to the weather, the Commissioners were not able to fully complete the photographs for the website but will do so by the June meeting. d. Elgin Historic District and Landmark Design Guidelines No update 3. Preservation Month Planning a) Staff provided a list of events for Preservation Month to the Commissioners. The Commission noted that there is a large variety of events this year, of which they are excited to attend. 4. Mayor’s Award Planning a. Staff went through the day of the event timing with the Commissioners and asked them to be at the gymnasium no later than 5PM that day to help set up. This includes setting up chairs, tables, architectural boards from the Elgin History Museum as well as the directional signage for the attendees. F. New Business a. Presentation on update of 1999 Mail Order House Research by Rebecca Hunter a) Rebecca was unable to attend the meeting to present her findings but noted that she will do so at the next Heritage Commission meeting in June. b. Advertisement: Bravo Magazine a) Staff asked the Commissioners if they’d like to submit an advertisement for Preservation Month as they did the previous year. The amount of the advertisement would not exceed $120. A motion was made by Commissioner Anderson to fund an advertisement in Bravo Magazine for Preservation Month not to exceed an amount of $120. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rowe. The motion passed unanimously. c. Plaques to be Made a) Staff stated that there will need to be two Heritage Plaques and one Sears, Roebuck and Company plaque to be made prior to May 1, 2018. A motion was made by Commissioner Rowe to approve funding the plaques that will be presented at the Mayor’s Awards in an amount not to exceed $95. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Krebsbach. The motion passed unanimously. d. Historic Rehabilitation Grant Review a) The commission agreed to meet after the regular scheduled Design Review meeting to be held on Tuesday, April 10th for the review of the submitted applications for the Historic Rehabilitation Grant Program. Elgin Heritage Commission: Minutes Page 3 April 3, 2018 G. Other Business 1. Staff reminded the commission of the upcoming Open Elgin event to be held on Saturday, April 21, 2018 from 1:00PM – 5:00PM. H. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner Savel to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Bauer and passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Christen Sundquist, Historic Preservation Planner Community Development Department Approved: Scoring Guidelines for Heritage Commission Plaque Applications Introduction The Elgin Heritage Commission plaque program recognizes buildings with both historic and architectural merit. The program is intended to promote preservation and awareness of Elgin’s past. The plaque is an acknowledgment of the owner’s efforts to research and document the building’s history and to maintain these structures as worthy examples of architectural style. The buildings and owners which receive plaques serve as role models for the larger community to emulate. The buildings become “reference books” for use in teaching others about our architectural and cultural heritage. There are a large number of “kit” or “catalog” homes in Elgin. These buildings were originally constructed using precut lumber and other materials largely supplied by a single source. The buildings were marketed through catalogs and sold by Sears, Roebuck and Company and other firms. The Heritage Commission plaque program recognizes these homes with a special plaque that documents the name of the original owner, the date of construction and the model name. The following guidelines help to delineate the criteria used to evaluate a building and merit receiving the special status of being awarded a plaque. Scoring Guidelines The scoring guidelines use three indices to assess an application. These cover the following considerations: 1. Architectural Considerations 2. Historical Considerations 3. Maintenance Considerations Each of these indices has a point scale from 0 to 10. To receive a plaque, an applicant must score 6 or higher on each of three indices. In addition, the building must have been constructed more than fifty years ago. Architectural Considerations 10 - A superior example of an established architectural style. The key elements of the style are both present and well executed in the design. There is no, or very little, evidence of architectural details, or other features (such as antennas, mail boxes, storm doors/windows, gutters/down spouts, etc.) that are inconsistent with the style or original appearance of the building. This score maybe awarded to an exceptionally well executed building of vernacular design, if all the architectural details and other features are consistent with period in which it was built. From the exterior, the building appears to be in original, as built, condition. 8 - A very good example of an established architectural style or vernacular design. The building may have alterations from its original appearance, such as additions, modified porches, changes to the windows, or missing architectural elements, etc., if these are changes are consistent with the overall style of the building, or, if not consistent, they have minimal impact on the building’s appearance. 6 - A good example of an established architectural style or vernacular design. Alterations maybe present but do not substantially obscure or compromise the style or original design of the building. Examples of these alternations may include additions or changes to the porches that are not consistent with the original design; Use of substitute siding in soffits and fascia; Use of substitute siding if the appearance and exposure of the siding is consistent with the original look and other details, such as corner boards, window/door moldings, etc. are present and appropriate to the style of the building. 4 - A fair example of an established architectural style or vernacular design. Alterations are present and while not entirely compromising the original design they noticeably detract from the original appearance. Examples of these detracting features are: Key architectural elements of the style are missing or no longer visible; Additions and alterations are not in character with the original style or age of the building; The use of substitute siding has obscured corner boards, window/door moldings, etc. The design or application of substitute siding is not consistent with that used when the building was constructed, for example, excessively wide exposures, or ship-lap, or board and batten profiles.