McHenry Times

City of McHenry Landmark Commission met May 6

Here are the minutes provided by commission:

1. Call to Order/Roll Call.

Chairman Hillier called the meeting to order at 5:30PM.

a. Present: Chairman Thomas Hillier, Kirk Donald, Donna Storm, Mark Healy, Zelinda Paluch, Beth Staley, Celeste Heidemann (5:41PM)

b. Absent: Kathryn Fray, Laura Welter,

c. Also Present: Greg Lofgren, Jeff Varda.

2. Public Comments

Mr. Varda spoke and gave congratulations to the Commission and on the Facebook Page. He gave an update on putting the Landmark School on the National Register. It will cost a minimum of 5-10k to have the school on the national register if you hire a consultant. He opined on some of the benefits of putting a structure on the National Register. He also stated that a local resident was interested in repurposing the Landmark School. He will leave the email address for Kendra (the contact for the National Register).

Beth asked if they should put out a mention on Facebook. The Commission nodded in agreement.

Mr. Varda shared a picture of Colby-Petersen farm. He gave an update on the Colby-Petersen farm meeting with City staff and that the situation is very slowly moving. He talked about bats being located in the barn which complicates the situation.

Mr. Varda knows a resident named Joe Condon who is interested in exploring original survey markers in the 1830s. He opined that he might have found the original survey markers at the Colby-Petersen farm. The Commission found this interesting.

Celeste Heidemann entered the meeting at 5:41PM.

Mr. Varda opined on the film production. He showed the video at a workshop. He started having conversations with the Middle School and the 6th grade unit of showing the video to the 6th graders. He opined on the difficulties of having the video incorporated into local school curriculum. He said the Commission should consider hosting a teacher workshop to see how the video can be incorporated into the curriculum. He talked about the potential logistics of the workshop. 

The City of McHenry is dedicated to providing the citizens, businesses and visitors of McHenry with the highest quality of programs and services in a customer-oriented, efficient and fiscally responsible manner.

He commented on the Borden Dairy building, and he was concerned about it. This may be a worthy target for preservation. The Commission agreed.

Greg Lofgren spoke at the meeting and gave his thanks to the Commission for being involved.

3. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes: April 1, 2025. Motion to approved by Commissioner Paluch, 2nd Commissioner Donald. (Ayes: Chairman Thomas Hillier, Kirk Donald, Donna Storm, Mark Healy, Zelinda Paluch, Beth Staley, Celeste Heidemann; Absent: Kathryn Fray, Laura Welter; Nays: None)

4. New Business

a. Motion to authorize up to $200.00 reimbursement for video recording expenses for the School Remembrance Event.

Thomas gave an update on the event. Said the expense was for recording fees. Motion by Zelinda, 2nd by Commissioner Donald. (Ayes: Chairman Thomas Hillier, Kirk Donald, Donna Storm, Mark Healy, Zelinda Paluch, Beth Staley, Celeste Heidemann; Absent: Kathryn Fray, Laura Welter; Nays: None)

b. Motion to authorize up to $1,060.00 in expenditures to purchase new Landmark Plaques. Motion Healy, 2nd Commissioner Donald. 1. (Ayes: Chairman Thomas Hillier, Kirk Donald, Donna Storm, Mark Healy, Zelinda Paluch, Beth Staley, Celeste Heidemann; Absent: Kathryn Fray, Laura Welter; Nays: None)

5. Discussion items:

a. Local History Discussion

Thomas gave an update on the Remembrance Event. The Commission discussed the general event details.

b. Landmark National Register

Skipped because the Commission discussed in public comment.

c. Petersen Farm

The Commission discussed how the re-use the property such as reviving the walking tour program.

d. Open Discussion

Commissioner Donald gave an update on the McHenry County Museum and they would be in contact with the City to look through the items in the barn. They are asking for donations to fix their heating and cooling. The Commission agreed to discuss it on the next agenda.

e. Fiesta Days. Commissioner Staley gave an update that July 19th if possible, would be nice to have a booth set up. Commissioner Storm said she was interested. City Planner sheriff said he will look into that.

6. Planning Workshop. The Commission went into the workshop discussion at 6:30PM that was led by staff. City Planner Sheriff said the Commission should expect a plan within the next coming months and that there would be subsequent review of a drafted Mission and Vision statement.

7. Adjournment Adjourned 8:30PM at the conclusion of the Planning Workshop. (Ayes: Chairman Thomas Hillier, Kirk Donald, Donna Storm, Mark Healy, Zelinda Paluch, Beth Staley, Celeste Heidemann; Absent: Kathryn Fray, Laura Welter; Nays: None)

https://cms8.revize.com/revize/mchenryil/Document_Center/Department/Community%20Development/Landmark/Minutes/Landmark%20Minutes%205.6.25.pdf