North Cook News

City of Elgin Heritage Commission met Feb. 1.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

A. The meeting of the Elgin Heritage Commission was called to order at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers by Chairman John Marston. All members, with exception of Chairman John Marston, attended via electronic means.

1. Members Present: Rebecca Hunter, John Wiedmeyer, John Regan (6:02), Marge Rowe, Scott Savel, Brian Anderson and John Marston.

2. Members Absent: Len Govednik

3. City Staff Present: Christen Sundquist, Historic Preservation Planner

B. Approval of Minutes:

1. A motion was made by Commissioner Hunter to approve the January 4, 2022 minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Anderson.

The motion passed 7-0-1 (Savel abstained).

C. Recognize Persons Present: Frank Imhoff attended via Zoom. He noted that he is interested in applying to be on the Elgin Heritage Commission and has always had an interest in history and Elgin’s architecture.

D. Plaque applications:

1. 1045 N. Spring Street – The plaque nomination received the following average scores: Historic Significance 9.17; Architectural Significance: 7.5; Current Maintenance: 8.5. A motion was made by Commissioner Wiedmeyer to approve awarding the plaque for the property with the inscription that would read J. & N. (John & Nellie) Alexander, 1884. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rowe.

The motion passed 6-0-1 (Hunter abstained).

2. 280-282 Douglas Avenue – The plaque nomination received the following average scores: Historic Significance 7.8; Architectural Significance: 7.8; Current Maintenance: 7.6.

A motion was made by Commissioner Rowe to approve awarding the plaque for the property with the inscription that would read H. (Harris) Goldman, 1922. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Anderson.

The motion passed 5-0-2 (Hunter and Savel abstained).

E. Old Business

1. Reports from Neighborhood Groups on Heritage Related Activities

a. Commissioner Rowe noted that basement walls at the cobblestone (302 W. Chicago) have been painted by Al Walters and the north side construction will begin in the Spring.

b. Commissioner Rowe noted that the Elgin History Museum created 24 “Museum Moments” videos that can be found on the museum’s website that are approximately two minutes in length and capture unique items that are at the museum.

c. Commissioner Rowe also stated that the Elgin History Museum had two programs including Elgin in Flight presented by Beth Nawara which will be held at the Gail Borden Public Library on February 10th. On February 20th at 2:00PM, the museum is hosting a lecture on Significant Black Women of the Reconstruction Era and Beyond to be presented by Dr. Felicia LaBoy.

d. Chairman Marston provided an update on Dan Miller. He has attended several meetings in person and is in good spirits.

2. 2022 Elgin Heritage Commission Goals

a. Historic Resources Survey

Staff is still compiling information into an excel spreadsheet and will be meeting with Commissioner Hunter to go over findings.

b. Spring-Douglas Historic District Walking Tour

Staff noted that she is waiting for the web developer to upload the tour onto the website. In the meantime, staff presented a postcard design that could be created to include in mailers that will bring more awareness to the HistoricElgin.com website as well as to the commission. The commission noted that the postcard was acceptable and will review cost estimates for printing at the commission’s next meeting.

c. Elgin Historic District and Landmark Design Guidelines

Staff noted to the commission that the target date to have the guidelines placed on the Committee of the Whole for review will be at the 2nd meeting in February or 1st meeting in March.

d. Future Commission Board Ideas

i. Commissioner Hunter noted that the Elgin History Museum is lending some graphics but additional items still need to be figured out. She also noted that if the commission is still virtual in March, then they should organize a time to get a photograph outside by the river to include in the Gail Borden Exhibit.

ii. No update regarding the Bungalow website.

e. Design Review Subcommittee Update

i. Commissioner Savel noted that projects are typically slow at this time but at the January Design Review meeting the subcommittee did review a proposed solar panel installation. He noted that there were compromises made and the subcommittee worked with the owner and contractor on the best solution for both parties.

F. New Business

1. Mayor’s Awards for Preservation 2022

a. Staff reminded the commission that the deadline for Mayor’s Awards nominations will be on Friday, February 26th and the deadline for events for Preservation Month will be on Friday, March 26th.

2. Historic Rehabilitation Grant Program

Staff reminded the commission that the deadline for the Historic Rehabilitation Grant program is on April 1st.

3. Update regarding the John Schmidtke House

Staff had a call with Kane County and the State Historic Preservation Office about completing the state’s mandatory Section 707 review.

G. Other Business - None

H. Adjournment

A motion was made by Commissioner Savel to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Regan and passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:53 p.m.

https://www.cityofelgin.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/7711