OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Janesville Historic Commission Meeting – September 1, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
BodyJanesville, Wisconsin
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, September 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 57:35

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Welcome to the September 1st Historic Commission meeting.

0:05

It is 5 p.m.

0:07

Call the meeting to order.

0:09

Roll call, please.

0:10

Quoroed.

0:11

Here.

0:12

Kremers.

0:13

Here.

0:13

Gall?

0:14

Here.

0:14

Griffha?

0:15

Here.

0:16

Terrell.

0:16

Here.

0:17

Conrad?

0:18

Here.

0:18

Six present.

0:19

You have a quorum.

0:20

Thank you.

0:21

Item number three on our agenda.

0:23

Comments from the public.

0:24

Did we receive any written comments?

0:27

We did not.

0:28

Thank you.

0:29

Item number four, approval of the amendment of the August 18th, 2026 regular meeting.

0:36

Is there a motion to accept the minutes as presented?

0:40

I will move.

0:42

Is there a second?

0:43

I'll second.

0:44

I'll second.

0:45

Okay.

0:46

Any further discussion?

0:48

Hearing none, all those in favor of accepting the minutes of the August 18th, 2026 regular meeting, please say aye.

0:54

Aye.

0:55

Opposed?

0:58

Um so moved.

1:00

All right.

1:01

Item number five under new business review of certificate of appropriateness 2026-0910 South Division Street.

1:12

Um Mitch or Rom, whoever would like to go.

1:17

First one.

1:17

Okay.

1:18

All right.

1:18

Uh had the opportunity to meet with the uh property owner at uh 120 South Division Street.

1:23

And he essentially is asking for uh approval of three things uh dealing with the house, which is important to note was built in 1948.

1:31

So I think there's a term for houses that are historical but not historical.

1:37

Um with a contributing that's the word I'm looking looking for the word a contributing house.

1:44

Um I'll make sure we keep that in mind as I kind of walk through this.

1:48

He's essentially asking for three things to be done to the to the property.

1:52

One is to uh replace the gutter, two is some roof repair, and three is repair the wood on the side of the gable, which as you can see in the images is is uh quite weathered is a dire need of replacement.

2:04

And there would also be some uh fascia being wrapped uh in aluminum uh as part of this effort.

2:11

So it really is four things.

2:13

So uh when Mitch and I met with the uh property owner, um we through the course of our discussions and observations it became apparent that the house um in 2018 time frame was approved previously by the historic commission to have the windows replaced and have them wrapped with aluminum.

2:33

So all but one window on the property is currently wrapped in aluminum.

2:38

And so when we're looking at the certificate, we're kind of doing it through that lens as opposed to the because materials that he's requesting, they are vinyl and they would typically not be the last option as opposed to the first.

2:56

Now uh the homeowner was uh quite gracious to go ahead and get an estimate for how much it would cost to replace the uh wooden portion of the siding with actual wood, and I think the cost went from 14,000 to about 21,000, so there's a significant jump there.

3:13

But again, I go back to to me the the framing what really frames this request is the fact that in 2018 the house has already approved for aluminum around the windows, so my two cents would be to approve it as as requested.

3:30

Mitch.

3:32

Yeah, I um I concur with um I think all of those points.

3:38

Um there is a uh there's multi there's several facets to this project, but I think the the biggest and most important portion is the uh replacement of the gables with vinyl.

3:52

Um the additional aluminum structures added um are not much of a concern to me.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████56%
Procedural██████████13%
Public Engagement█████████11%
Property Assessment████████10%
Grants And Funding████5%
Federal Funding██3%
Arts And Culture██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Janesville Historic Commission Meeting – September 1, 2026

The Janesville Historic Commission met on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 5:00 PM in the Council Chambers at City Hall (18 N. Jackson Street). The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM, with six members present and a quorum established. The agenda included approval of previous minutes, review of a Certificate of Appropriateness for a non-contributing property, continued discussion on public outreach, and a commissioner announcement on federal historic preservation regulation changes.

Consent Calendar

  • The minutes of the August 18, 2026 regular meeting were approved unanimously by voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No written or oral public comments were received.

Discussion Items

  • Certificate of Appropriateness 2026-09 – 120 S. Division Street (Goth/Bier): Property owner John Weber requested approval for four items: gutter replacement, roof repair, wood repair of the side gable, and aluminum fascia wrapping. The home, built in 1948, is designated as a non-contributing structure within the historic overlay. Previous commission approval in 2018 allowed aluminum wrapping around windows. The applicant provided three estimates showing that using engineered wood or wood materials would cost $7,000–$14,000 more than the proposed aluminum and vinyl. Commissioner Jim Gall expressed strong opposition to any further aluminum wrapping, citing long-term durability concerns and inconsistency with past commission decisions. The commission discussed the distinction between contributing and non-contributing properties and the need to review the 1990 designation list. After debate, the commission voted unanimously to table the application until the September 15, 2026 meeting, giving the applicant time to obtain a revised bid that replaces the aluminum fascia with engineered wood (e.g., LP SmartSide or TimberTech) while leaving the vinyl gable and other elements unchanged. The commission indicated that the gutter replacement and roof repair were not controversial.

  • Continued Discussion on Public Outreach: Staff liaison McKenzie reported on options for public outreach and funding. The historic commission can accept private donations and request city council funding, but the current budget guidance advises no new initiatives. Creative ideas included soliciting free printing from companies in exchange for logo placement, collaborating with JATV for videos, and applying for a Certified Local Government (CLG) grant. The CLG grant cycle has a letter of intent due in September 2026 and applications in December, with awards up to $50,000. The commission agreed to focus on updating outdated historic brochures and to consider a grant application for the next funding cycle. A commissioner also asked about limitations on soliciting private donations, which staff will investigate.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes approved: August 18, 2026 meeting minutes accepted unanimously.
  • COA 2026-09 tabled: Motion to table until the next regular meeting (September 15, 2026) passed unanimously. The applicant will seek a quote for engineered wood trim (no aluminum) and report back.
  • Public outreach direction: Commission agreed to prioritize updating printed brochures and explore CLG grant funding for educational materials. Staff will research solicitation rules for private donations.
  • Announcement on Section 106 changes: Commissioner Nancy presented on proposed federal regulatory changes to the National Historic Preservation Act’s Section 106, which would reduce public participation, eliminate protection for historic landscapes and tribal sites, and allow federal agencies to exclude state and local governments from consultations. The commission will discuss possible public comments at the September 15 meeting.
  • Next meeting: Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at 5:00 PM in Council Chambers.
  • Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 5:57 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the September 1st Historic Commission meeting. It is 5 p.m. Call the meeting to order. Roll call, please. Quoroed. Here. Kremers. Here. Gall? Here. Griffha? Here. Terrell. Here. Conrad? Here. Six present. You have a quorum. Thank you. Item number three on our agenda. Comments from the public. Did we receive any written comments? We did not. Thank you. Item number four, approval of the amendment of the August 18th, 2026 regular meeting. Is there a motion to accept the minutes as presented? I will move. Is there a second? I'll second. I'll second. Okay. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor of accepting the minutes of the August 18th, 2026 regular meeting, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Um so moved. All right. Item number five under new business review of certificate of appropriateness 2026-0910 South Division Street. Um Mitch or Rom, whoever would like to go. First one. Okay. All right. Uh had the opportunity to meet with the uh property owner at uh 120 South Division Street. And he essentially is asking for uh approval of three things uh dealing with the house, which is important to note was built in 1948. So I think there's a term for houses that are historical but not historical. Um with a contributing that's the word I'm looking looking for the word a contributing house. Um I'll make sure we keep that in mind as I kind of walk through this. He's essentially asking for three things to be done to the to the property. One is to uh replace the gutter, two is some roof repair, and three is repair the wood on the side of the gable, which as you can see in the images is is uh quite weathered is a dire need of replacement. And there would also be some uh fascia being wrapped uh in aluminum uh as part of this effort.

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