The City of Rock Island Preservation Commission met Wednesday, Aug. 17.
"The Preservation Commission performs the landmark designation of significant property, structures and historic districts and advises the City Council if such designations are appealed. It is the duty of the Preservation Commission to protect the distinctive visual characteristics of landmarks and historic districts by reviewing, giving advice and passing upon changes to their exterior architectural appearance. The Preservation Commission also takes a lead role in educating the public as regards the architectural and historical heritage of our community."
Here are the meeting minutes as provided by the Rock Island Preservation Commission:
APPROVED MINUTES PRESERVATION COMMISSION AUGUST 17, 2016 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS
MEMBERS PRESENT: Sue Swords, Elizabeth DeLong, Brian Leech
MEMBERS ABSENT: Leigh Ayers, Craig Kavensky, Lo Milani, Paul Fessler, Brent Bogen,
Anthony Heddlesten
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS: Linda Anderson, Jeff Dismer, Diane Oestreich
STAFF PRESENT: Brandy Howe
CALL TO ORDER: Elizabeth DeLong called the meeting to order at 5:02 PM.
Note: Due to a lack of a Chair and Vice Chair, the voting members in attendance nominated DeLong to serve as acting Chair.
AN ORDER APPROVING THE WRITTEN AGENDA Due to a lack of a quorum, the Commission could not vote on the written agenda.
AN ORDER APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 15, 2016 MEETING Due to a lack of a quorum, the Commission could not vote on the June meeting minutes.
PUBLIC HEARING: HERITAGE RESOURCES PLAN DeLong asked staff to introduce the item and the public hearing procedures. Howe thanked those in the audience for attending and apologized for the unusual circumstance of the lack of a quorum. She indicated that those in attendance wishing to speak at the public hearing would be heard for the record. Howe introduced the Heritage Resources Plan, noting that it is a city-wide planning document for historic resources in the community. She noted that the draft document has been publicly available on the City’s website since May. It is a project that has been worked on for about a year. It is a grant funded project and the Lakota Group is the consultant that was hired to prepare the plan. There have been a number of city-wide public outreach activities that were held at the library. The policies and recommendations in the plan have been vetted by the public and the stage is set for positive momentum for historic preservation activities in the community. Howe welcomed any comments the audience may have to share and asked DeLong to open the public hearing.
DeLong opened the public hearing. Leslie O’Ryan stepped forward to the podium. She commented that she is thankful the City has decided to pursue the plan and that it is critical to have a historic preservation element in the comprehensive plan for the City. Tyler Panell stepped up to the podium. He added that his sentiments are similar to the previous speaker. He is thankful that Rock Island is putting forth the effort and resources to complete this project and preserve and restore historic resources in the community. He added that he is a relatively new resident in the community and that Rock Island’s beautiful historic architecture is one of the reasons he decided to locate to the community instead of Bettendorf, for example. DeLong closed the public hearing.
Due to a lack of a quorum, the Commission could not vote on whether to recommend approval of the resolution to City Council.
Howe noted that due to the timing of the grant deadline along with the required Council meetings for the plan, the Commission will need to hold a special meeting to vote on the resolution. After some discussion, it was determined that Howe would work via email to find a meeting date that would work for the Commission.
OTHER BUSINESS DeLong asked if there is any other business. Oestreich reminded the Commission of the Iowa State Historical Society’s Preserve Iowa Summit is set for mid September.
ADJOURNMENT DeLong adjourned the meeting at 5:15.
Minutes submitted by Brandy Howe.
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