McLean County Times

Town of Normal Historic Preservation Commission met Dec. 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

Historic Preservation Commision Minutes 1 December 12, 2023

Members Present: Kathy Burgess, Nancy Armstrong, Chris Niebur, Robert Porter, Larry Schumacher, Anne Matter

Members Absent: Justin Vickers

Others Present: Tessa Ferraro, Associate Planner; Hannah Neal, Inspections and Planning Office Associate; Robert and Abby Murphy, 511 North School Street; Mike Fulton, Contractor

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 12:30 p.m. by Ms. Matter.

Approval of Minutes:

Mr. Niebur moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting on November 14th, 2023. Mr. Porter seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

Public Hearing:

a. BG-23-12-16: Window Frame Replacement, 511 N School

Ms. Matter asked for a motion to approve the Bone Grant as requested.

Mr. Schumacher moved to approve the Bone Grant application request. Ms. Burgess seconded.

The Bone Grant from the previous meeting was discussed. Ms. Matter reiterated that the Bone Grant was just for the window frames and not the actual windows.

Mr. Murphy said yes, they are just for the windows visible from the public right-of-way. Ms. Matter said that since this was a restoration issue, she had no issues with the grant moving forward.

Ms. Ferraro added that the grant is a reimbursement grant and that once the owner shows that it has been paid in full, we will be able to write the check to reimburse.

Ms. Matter called for a vote.

Ayes: Ms. Burgess, Ms. Armstrong, Mr. Niebur, Mr. Porter, Mr. Schumacher, Ms. Matter Nays: None

b. CA-23-12-49: Window Replacement, 13 Broadway Pl

Ms. Matter asked for a motion to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness as requested.

Historic Preservation Commision Minutes 2 December 12, 2023

Mr. Porter moved to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness request. Mr. Niebur seconded.

The owners of the property were not able to be present, but their contractor, Mike Fulton, was able to attend in their place. He started off by saying that a “window replacement” was an exaggeration. They are needing to put in 4 wood storm windows and to reglaze the existing leaded windows behind them.

Ms. Matter said that this seemed straight forward, the windows would be the same size. The only difference would be that there wouldn’t be a middle mullion. Ms. Matter went on to say that she didn’t have any issue with this, because on the inside there is a leaded glass window and thinks that the lack of the mullion would open up the view.

There was no disagreement on this and Ms. Matter called for a vote.

Ayes: Ms. Burgess, Ms. Armstrong, Mr. Niebur, Mr. Porter, Mr. Schumacher, Ms. Matter

Nays: None

c. Other Business

Ms. Ferraro provided an update on the Certificate of Appropriateness from the previous meeting, regarding the electric vehicle charging installations at 305 E Pine. The Route 66 grant was approved. There will be a Level 3 installed at Sprague’s, and she wanted to address the artwork that would be used for the wrap. It would look similar to Bloomington’s, but with Normal’s branding. Ms. Ferraro asked if the commission would need to see a proof of the artwork prior to installation.

Ms. Matter said no, and that her biggest concern is the location of the pump. Ms. Burgess did ask if the fonts would be similar to Bloomington’s and brought up that a more “retro font” might be a better fit for the site.

It was agreed that the design on the pump should tie into the existing signage on the property, but no proof would be needed.

Ms. Ferraro also brought up that the parking deck was being updated to a license plate reader, and that the change will be taking effect in January. She asked that all members download the accompanying app and that it would be best to come to the next meeting with the license plate numbers they would like to include.

She briefly explained that they will need to register their license plate with the app and that the commissioners will get a code at their meetings to validate parking. We will also be adding in more signs with instructions in the parking deck. There will still be an option to pay at Heartland Parking located in Uptown Station for those that would prefer to not use the app or that don’t have a phone.

Ms. Armstrong brought up a previous case that involved a railing replacement on Virginia Ave that hasn’t been completed yet.

Ms. Ferraro said that the certificates are good for a year, and the Commission did not put a time limit on the project. Since it is winter it is unlikely the property owner would do any work on the project until it is warmer. She said she will follow up in the spring.

Adjournment:

Meeting was adjourned at 12:45.

https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4848