OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Janesville Historic Commission Meeting – April 7, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, April 7, 2026
BodyJanesville, Wisconsin
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, April 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 34:29

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Um good evening and welcome to the historic commission meeting for Tuesday, April 7th.

0:07

Is now five o'clock and a call meeting to order.

0:13

McKenzie, would you like to do roll call?

0:16

Griffha?

0:17

Here.

0:17

Kremers.

0:18

Here.

0:19

Conrad?

0:20

Here.

0:20

Goth?

0:21

Here.

0:22

Hansen?

0:23

Absent.

0:24

Tarrell?

0:25

Absent.

0:25

For present, you have a corn.

0:27

Thank you.

0:29

Comments from the public.

0:31

Did we receive any comments today?

0:34

We did not.

0:34

Okay.

0:35

Moving on to item number four, approval of the minutes of the February 17th 2026 regular meeting.

0:43

Is there a motion to accept the minutes as presented?

0:49

I will motion to accept the minutes.

0:51

Is there a second?

0:53

Oh second.

0:55

Any further discussion?

0:57

There was one typo, but I already I already uh forwarded it.

1:01

Yeah, that's been adjusted.

1:02

Yes, so you're all called.

1:04

Um yeah, so there was there was that, but um other than that, it was in the Michael Roach has decided to no longer pursue rather than peruse.

1:17

Sneaky type.

1:18

So um may you want to amend your motion with change?

1:25

Uh yes, I will uh I will amend my my motion to accept with the uh the stated change of the Michael Roach bullet point to change uh peruse to uh pursue otherwise accepted.

1:38

Second is okay.

1:40

You second sorry, yes, okay.

1:43

All right, all those in favor, please say aye.

1:45

Aye.

1:46

Opposed.

1:47

Hearing none, so moved.

1:49

All right.

1:50

New business item number five, the discussion of the local historic preservation award nominations, of which we have two.

2:00

Um so are you be speaking about those?

2:02

Yeah, I can give uh an little explanation, then we can discuss um from there.

2:09

So yep, we did receive two nominations.

2:12

So one of them was for residential home, and the other is for Northside Brewery Excavation.

2:18

So the first one we can talk about is uh 403 North Pearl.

2:22

Um this is a home that was uh repainted.

2:26

Um and there were two people from the neighborhood who wanted to nominate this property.

2:33

Um neither of them are the homeowner, and they both you can see in your packet just really felt like it was beautifully painted and adds a lot of um character to the neighborhood, and so they just wanted to promote that.

2:50

And um there was also last year this was nominated.

2:55

This was nominated last year as well.

2:56

So the yep.

2:59

And then the second nomination was for Northside Brewery Excavation, and this is a site that is located along the river, um, not too far from here.

3:11

And um this property was was nominated um by Michael Palmer, um, and he shared explanation of kind of the history and the plan for the site.

3:26

Um they are working on rebuilding it, and there are I did go out there and took some photos that you can see on the slide.

3:33

They do have some QR codes uh in some different uh you know informational posters you can see there that provide more information.

3:42

Um so I guess at this time just wanted to see if anyone has any thoughts.

3:47

Last year we did have um one person or or two people go out and look at the sites, so that's always an option to assign someone to maybe go and gather more information or reach out to the not the people who did nominate and get more information from them as well.

4:09

So I I'd be happy to share that contact information if we want to go that route.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████71%
Arts And Culture████████12%
Procedural█████8%
Zoning And Land Use███5%
Public Engagement███4%
Summary of Proceedings

Janesville Historic Commission Meeting – April 7, 2026

Meeting Time: 5:00 PM – 5:35 PM
Location: City Hall, First Floor Conference Room, 18 N. Jackson Street, Janesville, WI
Attendance: 4 members present (Griffith, Kremers, Conrad, Goth); 2 absent (Hansen, Tarrell)

The Historic Commission convened to discuss local historic preservation award nominations, plan for Historic Preservation Month, consider participation in the Tallman Arts Festival, and receive an update on state award program submissions. No public comments were received.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes – February 17, 2026 Regular Meeting: The minutes were approved unanimously with a correction: the bullet point for Michael Roach was amended to change “peruse” to “pursue.” (Motion by Commissioner Kremers, seconded by Commissioner Conrad; voice vote: all ayes)

Discussion Items

  • Local Historic Preservation Award Nominations: Staff presented two nominations. The first was for 403 North Pearl Street, a residential home that received a new paint job (nominated by neighbors, not the homeowner). The second was for the Northside Brewery Excavation, an archaeological site along the river nominated by Michael Palmer; the site is an ongoing multi-year reconstruction project. Commissioners expressed interest in visiting both sites. Commissioner Griffith volunteered to gather more information on the brewery nomination, and other commissioners may join. The commission discussed the precedent of awarding ongoing projects but saw value in encouraging long-term preservation efforts. No contacts were requested for the Pearl Street nomination.
  • Historic Preservation Month (May): Staff noted that a proclamation of Historic Preservation Month will be read at the May 5 city council meeting (not the commission meeting) after commissioners advocated for greater visibility. The commission agreed to announce the local award winners at the May 19 meeting and to present the awards later as schedules align. Future plans for a library display were discussed but will require earlier planning (December/January).
  • Tallman Arts Festival (August 1-2): The commission decided to register for the festival, likely sharing space with the Rock County Historical Society. Commissioners emphasized that placement on the festival grounds is critical for effectiveness. The possibility of purchasing a branded tent and tablecloth (approx. $250) was discussed favorably.
  • State Historic Preservation Award Programs: Commissioner Griffith reported that two award applications were submitted by the end of March. The awards are to be presented at a conference in April (likely April 24); the commission is awaiting notification of results.

Announcements and Other Business

  • New Property Owner in Historic District: Max Drickie purchased 625 St. Lawrence Avenue. Commissioner Griffith volunteered to reach out to discuss historic preservation and the tax credit program.
  • Open House: An open house for a certificate of appropriateness project approved last year will be held the following day (April 8).
  • Enforcement Discussion: Commissioners raised concerns about follow-up on approved certificates of appropriateness, particularly when work is not completed within the allotted year or deviates from permits. Staff clarified that the building division coordinates enforcement and that permits typically trigger review, but acknowledged gaps.
  • Next Meeting: Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 5:00 PM in the council chambers.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes approved with correction (unanimous).
  • Award nominations: Commissioner Griffith will contact the Brewery nomination; no formal vote on awards yet.
  • Proclamation location changed to city council meeting (May 5).
  • Tallman Arts Festival: Commission will register and explore shared space with historical society.
  • State awards: Awaiting notification; no action taken.

Adjournment: Motion by Commissioner Kremers, seconded by Commissioner Conrad; all in favor. Meeting adjourned at 5:35 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Um good evening and welcome to the historic commission meeting for Tuesday, April 7th. Is now five o'clock and a call meeting to order. McKenzie, would you like to do roll call? Griffha? Here. Kremers. Here. Conrad? Here. Goth? Here. Hansen? Absent. Tarrell? Absent. For present, you have a corn. Thank you. Comments from the public. Did we receive any comments today? We did not. Okay. Moving on to item number four, approval of the minutes of the February 17th 2026 regular meeting. Is there a motion to accept the minutes as presented? I will motion to accept the minutes. Is there a second? Oh second. Any further discussion? There was one typo, but I already I already uh forwarded it. Yeah, that's been adjusted. Yes, so you're all called. Um yeah, so there was there was that, but um other than that, it was in the Michael Roach has decided to no longer pursue rather than peruse. Sneaky type. So um may you want to amend your motion with change? Uh yes, I will uh I will amend my my motion to accept with the uh the stated change of the Michael Roach bullet point to change uh peruse to uh pursue otherwise accepted. Second is okay. You second sorry, yes, okay. All right, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed. Hearing none, so moved. All right. New business item number five, the discussion of the local historic preservation award nominations, of which we have two. Um so are you be speaking about those? Yeah, I can give uh an little explanation, then we can discuss um from there. So yep, we did receive two nominations. So one of them was for residential home, and the other is for Northside Brewery Excavation. So the first one we can talk about is uh 403 North Pearl. Um this is a home that was uh repainted. Um and there were two people from the neighborhood who wanted to nominate this property. Um neither of them are the homeowner, and they both you can see in your packet just really felt like it was beautifully painted and adds a lot of um character to the neighborhood, and so they just wanted to promote that.

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