OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Janesville Historic Commission Meeting - February 17, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, February 17, 2026
BodyJanesville, Wisconsin
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, February 17, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 33:05

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Good evening and welcome to the Historic Commission meeting Tuesday, February 17th, 2026.

0:09

It is 5 p.m.

0:11

called meeting to order.

0:13

McKenzie, roll call, please.

0:15

Griffha?

0:16

Here.

0:16

Kremmer's Conrad?

0:18

Here.

0:19

Gaw?

0:20

Here.

0:20

Hansen?

0:21

I am here.

0:22

Terrell.

0:23

Absent.

0:24

Five present, you have a quorum.

0:26

Thank you.

0:28

Item number three on our agenda is comments from the public.

0:32

Did uh we receive any written comments today?

0:36

Thank you.

0:37

Item number four, approval of the minutes of the meeting of January 20, 2020.

0:45

It's a lot of 20s.

0:47

Is there a motion to accept the minutes as presented?

0:52

I'll motion to accept the minutes.

0:54

Is there a second?

0:55

I'll second.

0:57

Any discussion.

1:01

Hearing none.

1:02

All those in favor of accepting the minutes as presented from our meeting January 20th, please say.

1:09

Oh there is an incorrect date.

1:15

Oh, yeah.

1:16

On the way up at the top.

1:17

Yeah.

1:18

Before we with that, we do you accept the amended change?

1:23

Yes, I accept the movement change.

1:25

All those in favor, please say aye.

1:27

Aye.

1:28

Opposed.

1:29

Hearing none, so moved.

1:33

Item number five, new business.

1:36

Um was there anything that potentially has come up since the agenda was sent out?

1:42

Uh nope.

1:43

Okay.

1:44

Item number six, old business, our continued discussion on the historic preservation award programs.

1:52

So McKenzie, I guess I'll turn it over to you.

1:55

Yeah, so at our last meeting we discussed a few different award programs.

2:02

I know that we talked about potentially applying to this award program on the screen, the Wisconsin Historical Society, um, the preservation and rehabilitation award program.

2:15

However, we do not have an eligible project identified, so I just wanted to bring that to everyone's attention.

2:22

Dale uh did some research and so we unfortunately we don't have a project to apply for this one.

2:29

Um however we do have a couple projects identified for this program.

2:37

Um this is the uh historic preservation excellence awards, and so Mitch has been working on collecting the information necessary for an application for two of their award program or um options.

2:53

So the identification and designation, he's working on gathering the materials for the three elementary schools that were listed um last April.

3:07

So I don't know if if we have any discussion you know related to that particular one.

3:14

Also looking at applying for the advocacy um award, and that would be for the roadway signage that is happening throughout the historic districts in the community.

3:29

Yeah, and um I also have just some outstanding questions to um McKenzie and and city staff to just confirm some outstanding pieces of information before I hit the submit button, but um I designed all the um submission materials, the uh description of our uh panel's work on these various projects and the impacts they've had and hopefully will have uh in the future.

4:00

So everything, almost everything, is uh prepared to send these out.

4:04

I just need a few more bits of uh clarifying information, uh a couple of names, a couple of numbers, and otherwise we are ready to go for both of these submissions.

4:13

So I'm uh highly confident um as long as we get the information that we need, um, we can get ourselves submitted for these awards by end of the month at the latest, so healthily before the application due date.

4:29

Yeah, if anyone has any other discussion to provide for that.

4:33

I just have a question about that.

4:35

I wasn't here, but are we submitting one application for all three schools or separate?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████66%
Public Engagement██████████14%
Procedural█████████13%
Engineering And Infrastructure███4%
Personnel Matters██3%
Summary of Proceedings

The Janesville Historic Commission met on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, from 5:00 PM to 5:33 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. A quorum was present. The meeting covered approval of minutes, continued discussion on Historic Preservation Award Programs, and commissioner announcements.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the minutes of the January 20, 2026 regular meeting as amended after a correction to the date (the original draft incorrectly referenced January 20, 2020). The motion carried unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No written or in-person public comments were received.

Discussion Items

  • State Award Programs: The commission reviewed two Wisconsin Historical Society award opportunities. No eligible project exists for the Preservation and Rehabilitation Award, so no application will be submitted. Applications will be pursued for the Historic Preservation Excellence Awards in two categories:
    • Identification and Designation: For the three elementary schools listed on the National Register last April; one application covering all three schools.
    • Advocacy: For the roadway signage project being installed throughout historic districts. Commissioner Mitch stated that submission materials are nearly ready, pending a few clarifications, and applications should be submitted by the end of February, well before the deadline.
  • Local Historic Preservation Award: The commission discussed the local award program that had only two submissions last year. They agreed to release the application as soon as possible, with a closing date of March 27, 2026 (a Friday). If submissions are insufficient, the period may be extended to no later than April 15. Awardees will be announced at a May meeting during Historic Preservation Month. The commission decided not to require that completed work be within the last two years, to encourage participation. They also discussed advertising through the city manager's office, press releases, social media, and neighborhood groups, and posting past awardees on the city website.

Announcements

  • Commission Member Klingaman resigned; Member Hansen is reaching term limits. Two vacancies will be filled, with applications accepted through March 8, 2026. Chairperson Griff is eligible for reappointment.
  • Michael Roach is no longer pursuing redevelopment of the engineering building.
  • The zoning code update will eventually include sections on the Historic Preservation Commission for commission review.
  • More street signs are being replaced in the Courthouse Hill area.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved minutes as amended.
  • Decided not to apply for the Wisconsin Historical Society Preservation and Rehabilitation Award.
  • Directed staff to finalize and submit Historic Preservation Excellence Award applications for the school designations and signage advocacy.
  • Set the local award application deadline for March 27, 2026, with possible extension to April 15; announcement planned for May 2026.
  • Agreed to coordinate with the city manager's office on promotion and to post past awardees online.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening and welcome to the Historic Commission meeting Tuesday, February 17th, 2026. It is 5 p.m. called meeting to order. McKenzie, roll call, please. Griffha? Here. Kremmer's Conrad? Here. Gaw? Here. Hansen? I am here. Terrell. Absent. Five present, you have a quorum. Thank you. Item number three on our agenda is comments from the public. Did uh we receive any written comments today? Thank you. Item number four, approval of the minutes of the meeting of January 20, 2020. It's a lot of 20s. Is there a motion to accept the minutes as presented? I'll motion to accept the minutes. Is there a second? I'll second. Any discussion. Hearing none. All those in favor of accepting the minutes as presented from our meeting January 20th, please say. Oh there is an incorrect date. Oh, yeah. On the way up at the top. Yeah. Before we with that, we do you accept the amended change? Yes, I accept the movement change. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed. Hearing none, so moved. Item number five, new business. Um was there anything that potentially has come up since the agenda was sent out? Uh nope. Okay. Item number six, old business, our continued discussion on the historic preservation award programs. So McKenzie, I guess I'll turn it over to you. Yeah, so at our last meeting we discussed a few different award programs. I know that we talked about potentially applying to this award program on the screen, the Wisconsin Historical Society, um, the preservation and rehabilitation award program. However, we do not have an eligible project identified, so I just wanted to bring that to everyone's attention. Dale uh did some research and so we unfortunately we don't have a project to apply for this one. Um however we do have a couple projects identified for this program. Um this is the uh historic preservation excellence awards, and so Mitch has been working on collecting the information necessary for an application for two of their award program or um options.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com