McHenry Times

The Huntley Historic Preservation Commission met May 17.

The village of Huntley Historic Preservation Commission is located at 10911 Main St., Huntley.

Here are the minutes of the meeting as provided by Huntley:

1. CALL TO ORDER

Chairperson Donna Britton called to order the regularly scheduled meeting of the Village of Huntley Historic Preservation Commission for Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 6:00 pm in the Village Board Room, located at 10987 Main Street, Huntley, Illinois 60142. The room is handicap accessible.

2. ROLL CALL - ATTENDANCE

MEMBERS PRESENT: Commissioners Geri Rizzo, Deb Waters and Diana Carpenter, Vice Chair Lonni Oldham and Chairperson Donna Britton

MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioners Karen Langhenry and Jake Marino

ALSO PRESENT: Director of Development Services Charles Nordman and Planner James Williams

3. PUBLIC COMMENTS There was no public comments.

4. Approval of Minutes

A. A MOTION was made to approve the April 19, 2016 Historic Preservation Commission meeting  minutes with the following changes:

Page 1, Line 20, replace “was” with “were”

Page 3, Line 25, replace “throughout the month of May” with “on May 28th.”

MOVED: Commissioner Rizzo

SECONDED: Vice Chair Oldham

AYES: Commissioners Rizzo, Waters and Carpenter, Vice-Chair Oldham and Chairperson Britton

NAYS: None

ABSTAIN: None

MOTION CARRIED 5:0:0

Chairperson Britton asked if Vice Chair Oldham needed any assistance with labels for the various artifacts within the Town Square and Vice Chair Oldham stated these items were finished.

Chairperson Britton noted that Commissioner Langhenry had distributed the historic placemats to the four (4) restaurants and had not heard any updates in regard to this matter.

Commissioner Rizzo provided a review of the May 5th Village Board meeting where the four (4) most recently awarded Pride in Preservation (PiP) homes were highlighted and she noted that Commissioners Carpenter and Langhenry were in attendance and that the PiP presentation went very well.

5. Old Business

A. Second Street Historic District / Landmark Designations

Chairperson Britton recalled that previous discussions included drafting a letter to Second Street property owners incorporating the Daily Herald news article about the historic district designation of Vice Chair Oldham’s property and outlining the specifics of the historic designation process.

5 Second Street Stroll

The planning of the proposed Second Street Stroll event was discussed including the selection of properties to highlight, contacting various organizations (Huntley high school students, Del Webb, and McHenry County Historical Society) about portraying historical Second Street residents.

Ten (10) properties along Second Street were preliminarily selected.

Additional discussion ensured regarding the possibility of a dress rehearsal date, a hand-out outlining the highlighted properties for the public attending the Stroll event, refreshments, as well as the possibility of determining if any Second Street property owners were interested in having an “open house”.

In regard to the proposed Thursday, October 6, 2016 reception event, preliminarily scheduled at Commissioner Langhenry’s residence, Chairperson noted that she needs to finalize plans for a realtor and/or an appraiser to attend the meeting to assist with the discussion about the importance of historic preservation.

B. 05/28/16 – Farmers Market and Craft Fair

In regard to the Huntley Historic Alliance booth at the Farmers Market on Saturday, May 28, 2016, Chairperson Britton noted set-up of the booth would begin at 7:15 a.m.

Planner Williams noted that the Historic Town Square – Self-Guided Tour Map would not be included with the handouts because of the recent redevelopment underway in and around that portion of the Village’s downtown.

In addition to the historic preservation handouts, brochures and pictures, Chairperson Britton stated that Trustee Goldman wanted to have a few historic artifacts from the Huntley Historical Society’s collection available for display.

C. Historic Preservation Ordinance Revisions

Vice Chair Oldham distributed copies of the revisions she drafted to the Huntley Historic Preservation Ordinance

Section 159.002 Goals. including the following revision and addition:

(D) maintain and improve property values in the Village and the economic vitality of the Village by fostering preservation and restoration;

(H) provide a mechanism to identify and preserve the historic and architectural characteristics of the Village; Commissioner Waters suggested adding the following Goal from the Lake Forest, Illinois Historic Preservation Ordinance:

(I) provide a forum for discussion of historic preservation issues;

D. Certificate of Appreciation Properties

Chairperson Britton reviewed the following Certification of Appreciation awards previously discussed:

Certificate of Appreciation – Restoration Award - to be awarded to:

i. DMB Properties LLC, building owner, home to Shampooch and Kitty (11806 Main) and Sal’s Pizza (11019 Woodstock) – A copy of the certificate given to owner and both proprietors.

ii. Strode’s Colonial Vermont Furniture (11707 Main)

Certificate of Appreciation – Historic Display – to be awarded to:

i. McDonald’s (12242 Route 47)

ii. Starbucks (12210 Princeton Dr.)

iii. Sal’s Pizza (11019 Woodstock)

The presentation date for the Certificate of Appreciation awards was yet to-be-determined.

Director Nordman stated that staff would investigate if the 05/28/16 Farmers Market event would accommodate the program or whether it would be best to hold the certificate of appreciation presentation at a future Farmers Market.

6. New Business

Publicity

Chairperson Britton noted that Village Trustee Ronda Goldman offered to provide Commissioner Langhenry with news outlet contacts.

Historic Theme Mural

Vice Chair Oldham stated she has researched companies that specialize in mural paintings.

Chairperson Britton asked what the estimated budget would be for a mural.

Director Nordman noted the Village’s facade grant program has a maximum of $10,000 annually available to an individual property owner. However, Director Nordman pointed out that the mural portion of the project represents a single element of an exterior restoration which includes several elements to be covered by the grant program budget.

Artifacts in the Square

Vice Chair Oldham noted the inventory of items within the Town Square include: the bell; mortar; rock; gazebo; commemorative bricks that potentially could be denoted with an informational plaque.

7. Adjournment

At 7:50 p.m., A MOTION was made by Vice Chair Oldham to adjourn the meeting and was seconded by Commissioner Rizzo. Motion carried unanimously.