Chicago City Wire

City of Wheaton Historic Commission met Dec. 19.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

I. Call to Order 

The meeting was called to order at 7:03 pm 

Present In-person – Louise Ferrebee (Chair), Bob Purdy (Secretary), Lisa Buchanan (Treasurer), Nancy  Flannery, Mike Hill, Joe Szczepaniak. Absent – Syed Hussain 

II. Public Comments 

None 

III. Approval of October Minutes 

Approved on a motion by Bob, seconded by Nancy, and passed unanimously. 

IV. Welcome New Commission Members: Michael A. Hill. (Syed Hussain absent). 

V. Treasurer Report 

Lisa shared the FY2023 spending, showing $336.29 left in the budget. Discussed the $500 pending  commitment for the Keith Letsche Home Style Identification research done this year. A motion was  made to reduce this to $200 since it would no longer include a lecture or video presentation. This $200 payment was made in 2023. Motion by Nancy, seconded by Joe, and passed unanimously. 

VI. Old Business 

• Historic Register Program: 

o Status of Website update: 

▪ Wheaton Register of Historic Places (WRHP) application form will be a writeable PDF; work is in progress on this. 

▪ The DuPage County Tax Books Research document created by Lisa will be made available to applicants as a PDF. Sources are being explored to accomplish this. 

o Self-guided Walking Tours on Historic Register Map 

▪ The initial tour will be residences and it was deemed that parts of the Northwest section were the most dense with register homes. Lisa is working on a map with identified homes for tours in the Northwest zone. 

▪ Mike agreed to check the availability of a plug-in to Google Maps. If this is possible, it would enable walkers to use their phones instead of necessitating a printed map. 

• Revision of Commission goals and statement of purpose 

o Annual Report. Louise shared comments from the December 11 review. Each was discussed with appropriate actions where necessary.

o Outline of 2024 events and activities. The overlap with other commissions--Bicycle and Pedestrian (overlapping Tours), and Community Relations (overlapping History events)--was noted. Louise will explore partnering with these commissions on events going forward. 

o Ostberg Lectures. Bob has secured dates for both 2024 events: Thursday May 16 for Railroads of Wheaton and Wednesday October 23 for Wheaton Cemeteries. Both presentations will be held at 7 pm in the WPL meeting room and videorecorded by City staff. VII. New Business 

• Review of future historical marker sites. Nancy will bring the list of possibilities that the commission developed earlier to the January meeting, and this discussion will resume then. Bob reiterated the  case for a marker covering the former CA&E Shops and Maintenance Yard, the area south of Liberty Street and west of West Sreet. 

• Nominations for Election of Officers at January meeting. These nominations were made: 

Louise – Chair 

Joe – Vice Chair 

Bob – Secretary 

Mike – Treasurer 

VIII. Miscellaneous 

• Demolition of properties. Formerly there was notification of demolition permits, changes in owners, changes in zoning, etc. Since there was no advance notification of demolition of the old Carlson building, a Wheaton Historic Register property, it was determined the Historic Commission would pursue better communication with other city commissions and departments. 

• How To Guide (previously Policy and Procedures) is now updated. Commissioners were asked to review and comment on it in SharePoint. 

IX. Commissioner Comments. 

• Nancy shared details and ticket availability of the January MLK Day event at Drury Lane partnered by Inland Real Estate and DuPage County.  

• Louise said the Historic Register plaque was missing from the Starbucks building following the recent reconstruction work. Efforts will be made to locate it. 

X. Adjournment. Bob moved to adjourn, Nancy seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. The  meeting concluded at 8:51 pm

https://www.wheaton.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_12192023-2445