McHenry Times

City of McHenry Landmark Commission met Oct. 4.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

Roll Call

Landmark Chairwoman Beth Staley called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present: Beth Staley, Zelinda Paluch, Pamela Kellogg, Thomas Hillier, Robin Schmidt, Celeste Heidemann, Mary Kay Welter. Members absent: Bettye Sowinski, Jeff Varda

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Celeste Heidemann and seconded by Zelinda to approve the minutes of the September 7, 2022 regular meeting minutes. Voice Vote: 7-ayes, 0-nay, 2-absent. Motion carried.

Public Comments

Pat Wirtz and Nancy Fike were present to talk about the Dr. Brown, Matt Weber, and Beatrice Justen home which is scheduled for demolition. They put together four pages of history with some pictures about the house. They went into the house and took pictures and will give them to the library for public record. Ms. Fike stated that it is important to remember tasks like this and keeping a record of homes or buildings before they are destroyed. She hopes that the Landmark Commission can keep a good relationship with the City so that the history is maintained.

Green Street Project

The Green Street project was briefly discussed. There are some confusing addresses of stores that used to exist compared to the addresses that are out there now.

Plaque Checking

Each Commission member reported the condition of the plaques that they were assigned to. Monte Johnson will check with the City to see if they want a plaque at the horse barn. There are quite a few plaques that are missing that may have been taken down.

Digitizing Records

Beth Staley explained that a high school volunteer is being used to scan Landmark documents at City Hall.

Badges or Lanyards

It was discussed that it would be nice to have a badge or lanyard identifying who the Landmark members are when they are working in the community. Robin Schmidt stated that she has a name badge from being on the Commission, and Monte Johnson will work to get everybody a name badge.

Events Calendar for 2023

Beth Staley went through the suggestions that the Commission came up with for programs. If things don’t get planned, they won’t happen. Commission members will go through the possible events and

decide what should take place this upcoming year. The events will be discussed at the next meeting and a calendar should be made by December.

History of McHenry DVD

Beth Staley reported that Jeff Varda suggested a History of McHenry DVD be produced. This could be an educational tool to use instead of having people physically visit the classrooms in schools. Jennifer Kriewaldt suggested that a YouTube video be made as that is a modern way to produce videos and get them published to the public.

Pamela Kellogg discussed the Landmark brochures and recommended changes to those. Jennifer Kriewaldt asked about the Count house and if anything could be done regarding its possible structural issues. Pam Kellogg suggested getting plaques made for all historical buildings. The Methodist Church does not have a City plaque but it has been done through the County.

Adjourn

A motion was made by Robin Schmidt and seconded by Thomas Hillier to adjourn at 8:13 p.m. Voice Vote: 7-ayes, 0-nay, 2-absent. Motion carried.

https://cms8.revize.com/revize/mchenryil/Document_Center/BoardDocs/Landmark/10-4-22%20Landmark%20Minutes.pdf