Chambana Sun

City of Woodstock Historic Preservation Commission met May 22.

Here is the minutes provided by the Commission:

I. Call to Order: The Regular Meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission of the City of Woodstock was called to order by Chairman Kyle McCoy at 7:00 pm on Monday, April 24, 2017 in the Conference Room at City Hall.

A Roll Call was taken.

Historic Preservation Commission Members Present: Marti Dejon, Erica Wilson, Rodney Paglialong, and Chairman Kyle McCoy.

Historic Preservation Commission Members Absent: none.

Staff Present: Economic Development Director Garrett Anderson, Liaison City Planner Nancy Baker and Chief Deputy City Clerk Jane Howie.

Others Present: Wendy Piersall, new member of the Old Courthouse and Sheriff’s House Advisory Commission.

II. Public Comment: W. Piersall mentioned that she loves the modernism in the quaint historic setting. She’s been a resident of Woodstock for 3 1⁄2 years and she loves it here.

III. Acceptance of Minutes: Note: With regard to Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Dioguardi’s Architect, Ronald Flubacker, the Commission is concerned that the petitioner will be going forward with their plans to restore / renovate the building on the corner of E. Judd Street and N. Benton Street without presenting further information to this Commission. This Commission wants to be certain that Mr. and Mrs. Dioguardi come before this Commission to present details of the windows, once their budget is determined and they’ve decided on some options. With regard to window specifics, the building owners and architect shared that their intent is to use existing openings as they are and to use aluminum clad windows.

And, with the following corrections:

• 2nd page, 1st full paragraph should be “E. Wilson asked if the windows will be in current position and curved at the top to match existing masonry windows.”

• Later in that paragraph: “She suggested perhaps a clear coating over the brick to minimize moisture infiltration”.

• 2nd page, 4th paragraph should be “E. Wilson recommended with any masonry repairs on historic building, hire a professional who is accustomed to work on historic buildings and using softer historic mortars.”

Motion by M. Dejon, second by E. Wilson, to accept the Minutes from the April 24, 2017 meeting, with corrections. Ayes: M. Dejon, E. Wilson, R. Paglialong, and Chair K. McCoy. Nays: none. Abstentions: none. Absentees: none. Minutes were accepted with the above corrections.

IV. General Business:

A. Discuss Plan Presentation and working session / discussion

Economic Development Director Garrett Anderson stated that City Council has instructed the Economic Development Department to develop a downtown plan to include a timeline of 10-15 years. Mr. Anderson has already met with local business owners, members of City Council, as well as City staff members to gather suggestions, wants and needs. With historic preservation being a key element to the overall plan, G. Anderson welcomes the opinions of this Commission with regard to both commercial and residential buildings in and around the downtown.

He asked that Commissioners to take some time to complete the online survey on the City’s website. The City is looking for suggestions for some of the key buildings in the downtown such as Woodstock Station and Richards Building Supply. And also, ideas from towns that already have decent projects in place that are preserving their community’s history.

A lengthy discussion ensued that included the recognition and plaquing of historic homes, a self-guided walking tour of the historic Downtown, perhaps an event that includes reenactments, mixed-use buildings, medium to high-density housing, an all-season concert venue, revitalizing the area around the Metra Station and create more of a corridor from the train station to draw commuters into the Square.

G. Anderson asked what the Commissioners thought about the location of the actual train station building. Currently, the building is on the side of the tracks where commuters are arriving from Chicago. It has been suggested that it might be a better idea to have a building on the opposite side of the tracks where commuters are waiting to board the train. N. Baker believes the current building is on the national registry as a significant building, so it may have to stay there. However, a new station could be built on the opposite side of the railroad tracks.

The Commission agreed that a height restriction should be instilled, so that the Woodstock Opera House and the Old Courthouse remain the tallest buildings in the City.

A comment was made that Crystal Lake has done a decent job utilizing the train station into the downtown. Perhaps having the Farmers Market, or a portion of the market, by the train station, has helped. Perhaps Woodstock needs to find a way to capture this time of energy. R. Paglialong mentioned the idea of having a history museum in the train station or a Welcome / Visitors Center.

Other buildings that were mentioned and/or discussed were the church on Washington Street across from Dairy Queen, the American AdBag building on Madison Street – which may be improved by the current owner at some point this year, Richards Building Supply, right by the tracks, and Woodstock Station / the old Die Cast site.

The Commission agreed with the idea of mixed use for some of these facilities. They shared some of their opinions about murals. They agreed that they like this idea for some of the older buildings in town. K. McCoy mentioned that in Louisville they do a lot of murals, some are for advertising purposes, some are artistic murals; it makes it interesting because it brings the area together cohesively. E. Wilson believes the City should be careful with adding murals so that they don’t detract from the architectural detail of the building or community. R. Paglialong believes the murals should be distinct urban Victorian style.

The Commission discussed the possibility of having an indoor market in the old BMO bank building on the Square, which could include a deli or food court; something similar to an indoor, year-round Farmers Market.

Some discussion ensued about the old Elks Lodge on Cass Street. E. Wilson mentioned the area by Zoia Monument on Washington Street near the intersection of Throop Street. This area is currently under-used. With the mention of middle to high density residential, E. Wilson added that the City needs to also consider ways to maintain and incorporate open spaces. A comment was made that the corridor by Jones Locker could also be a good area for high density, near Emerson Lofts.

As this Commission’s focus is historic preservation, they believe the City should showcase of the most historic properties, such as the Old Courthouse, a cultural beacon, and perhaps include a Woodstock museum and Welcome / Visitor Center. A few other opinions for the Old Courthouse included a discover museum, a wedding venue, or a meeting facility. There’s a lot of cultural richness in the City of Woodstock. We need to highlight this and show our appreciation.

K. McCoy added that so many of us love this town and the historic areas; we want to preserve it and give it the vibrancy that it deserves. It would be great to re-purpose space inside these buildings and bring these building back to life.

B. Staff Updates

N. Baker said the owners of the old Elks Lodge are seeking administrative approval for windows; they want to clean the paint off the masonry. R. Paglialong recommended Dumond for cleaning the paint away.

N. Baker recently met with the owner of the American AdBag building. The owner wants to move part of her production back into the building and is planning to refresh the building.

N. Baker said this Commission will have to meet in June as Mr. Gary Anderson wants to present window recommendation for the front of the Old Courthouse building, and maybe roofing materials for the Sheriff’s House. He’s currently meeting with window restoration contractors. He’ll make sure IHPA is on board.

Today, a masonry restoration company, with a sub consultant, came out to look at the outside of the Old Courthouse and Sheriff’s House. Marion Restoration will look at what needs to be done. There may be CDBG funds still available for use.

V. Future Agenda Items: none.

VI. Adjournment:

Motion made by R. Paglialong, second by E. Wilson, to adjourn this Regular Meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission. Ayes: M. Dejon, E. Wilson, R. Paglialong, and Chair K. McCoy. Nays: none. Abstentions: none. Absentees: none. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm.

http://www.woodstockil.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/historic_preservation_commission/meeting/7171/hpc_minutes_5-22-17.pdf