The Janesville Historic Commission met on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 5:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. Six members were present, establishing a quorum. The meeting addressed two Certificate of Appropriateness applications, approval of prior meeting minutes, and a debrief on the Tallman Arts Festival.
Certificate of Appropriateness 2026-07, 12 Jackman St (Griffa/Conrad): Commissioner Conrad reported that the proposal to repair failing concrete and brick and replace front porch columns was deemed appropriate. The applicant plans to replace existing metal columns with ones that better match the original architectural intent. No concerns were raised, and the commission approved the COA unanimously.
Certificate of Appropriateness 2026-08, 121 E Van Buren (Terrill/Corro): The application proposed porch work, residing with vinyl siding, roof work, and window casing wrapping. Commissioner Terrell expressed concerns about the vinyl siding and aluminum window wrap, recommending fiber cement or wood alternatives. Property owner Kathleen Martin (121 E Van Buren) stated she has hail damage compensation and wants to be historically accurate. She noted she has two contractors—one for the porch (available in October/November) and one for siding/roof. City staff referenced the Courthouse Hill Historic Overlay District plan, which allows vinyl siding if it imitates original width and architectural details are preserved. After discussion, the commission voted to approve the porch and roof portions to allow the owner to proceed, and continued the discussion on siding and windows to the next meeting, requiring the owner to gather more information on alternative materials.
Debrief on Tallman Arts Festival: The commission tabled this discussion to the August 18 meeting because a key member (Dale) was absent and wished to participate.
All right. It is five o'clock PM. It's time for the historic commission meeting. It is Tuesday, August 4th, 2026. We'll call the meeting to order. McKenzie, can you please take roll call? Cora? Here. Beer? Here. Kremmers. Here. Goff. Here. Grippa. Terrell. Here. Conrad? Here. Six present. You have a quorum. Wonderful. Moving on to comments from the public. Are there any today? There were none. Wonderful. Moving on to item number four, approval of minutes. The minutes of the July 20, July 21st, 2026 regular meeting are attached here. Are there any motions or any discussion? I move to approve the minutes as presented. Is there a second? All right. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor of approving the minutes as presented of the July 21, 2026 meeting, please say aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed. Motion carries. Moving on to item number five, new business number one, review of certificate of appropriateness 2026-07 12 Jackman Street. Commissioner Conrad. I'll be happy to. The photos show some failing concrete and brick on the front. And so the proposal here is to repair the concrete and brick work and replace the columns that are supporting that front porch. Both uh Commissioner Griffith and I were not concerned about the project when we reviewed it. It looked um uh very appropriate from our point of view. And I can't quite tell from the the photo. Um what is are there any um columns there now? Yeah, there's a um metal, is it wrought iron? We have the contractor right here.