City of Elgin Elgin Heritage Commission met June 1.
Here is the minutes provided by the commission:
A. The meeting of the Elgin Heritage Commission was called to order at 7:01 p.m. in the City Council Chambers by Chairman John Marston.
1. Members Present: Rebecca Hunter, Len Govednik, John Wiedmeyer, John Regan, Marge Rowe, Scott Savel, Brian Anderson, and John Marston.
2. Members Absent: None
3. City Staff Present: Christen Sundquist, Historic Preservation Planner
B. Approval of Minutes:
1. A motion was made by Commissioner Regan to approve the April 6, 2021 minutes with the following amendments: E1b, Tefft Zoo replaced with Tefft’s Farm; E3b, eight plaques replaced with 24 plaques; F1 the word “apart” replaced to “as part.” The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wiedmeyer.
The motion passed unanimously.
2. A motion was made by Commissioner Anderson to approve the April 13, 2021 Historic Grant Review minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hunter. The motion passed 7-0-1 (Savel abstained)
C. Recognize Persons Present: None
D. Plaque applications: None
E. Old Business
1. Reports from Neighborhood Groups on Heritage Related Activities
a. Commissioner Rowe noted to the commission that the top of the windmill in Foundry Park was removed due to damage from the August windstorm. It is currently being repaired and will be reinstalled at the end of summer.
b. Commissioner Rowe stated that the Elgin History Museum received a $4,000 grant from the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Board of Records to digitize the Courier News’ negatives.
c. Commissioner Rowe stated that the May 22nd open house at the Nancy Kimball House located at 302 W. Chicago Street had over 100 people visit.
d. Chairman Marston stated that the Gifford Park House Walk and the Elgin History Museum’s Cemetery Walk will be held this year. The Cemetery Walk will be on the 4th Saturday and Sunday of September and will be back in person. The House Walk will be held on the second Saturday of September, though, the committee is still working out the logistics of an in person tour.
2. 2021 Elgin Heritage Commission Goals
a. Historic Resources Survey
No update.
b. Spring-Douglas Historic District Walking Tour
No update.
c. Elgin Historic District and Landmark Design Guidelines
No update.
3. Preservation Month Recap 2021
The Commission noted that the events held this year were well attended. Commissioner Hunter stated that she had 26 people join her tour and she had to turn away 31 who were interested. The tour of the Brick Hill was also well attended with 20 people, the Hillside Cemetery tour was at 50 people and Jerry Turnquist’s tour of the Elgin Historic District was at full capacity.
F. New Business
1. Elgin Heritage Commission Budget
a. Mayor’s Awards Photographs
A motion was made by Commissioner Regan to pay $300 for the professional photographs taken by Bruce Shipyor at the Mayor’s Awards for Preservation 2021. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rowe.
The motion passed unanimously.
2. Bungalow Plaque – 1032 Prospect Boulevard
Staff noted to the commission that 1032 Prospect Boulevard was formally approved by City Council to be included into the Bungalow Thematic Historic District the week after the Mayor’s Awards. She asked the commission if she should hold onto the bungalow plaque for the December Plaque Awards or if she can give the plaque to the owner now. The commission felt that staff should give the plaque to the owner now and have a brief acknowledgement to the owner at the December awards ceremony.
3. Future Commission Board Ideas
Chairman Marston stated to the commission that they need to become more involved within the community. This may include walking tours, events, lectures, neighborhood group check-ins and any other ideas that the commissioners feel passionate about and would like to organize. To get more presence in the community, Chairman Marston
stated that the commission should look into getting name tags so when they can be recognized at events to bring more awareness of what the commission does for the community.
The commission agreed and asked staff to provide a cost estimate for review at the next scheduled meeting. Chairman Marston asked that each commissioner think about what they’d like to focus on for their involvement on the commission to discuss at the next scheduled meeting.
G. Other Business
Staff stated that typically the July meeting is cancelled due to its proximity to the July 4th holiday as many commissioners are not available to attend. The commission still agreed to meet in July dependent on if there is business to discuss.
H. Adjournment
A motion was made by Commissioner Regan to adjourn the meeting.
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