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Record of Proceedings

Waukesha Landmarks Commission Meeting Summary - August 5, 2026

Public Meetings — Wednesday, August 5, 2026
BodyWaukesha, Wisconsin
SessionPublic Meetings
DateWednesday, August 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 58:27

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:26

Good evening, everybody.

0:27

This is the city of Waukesha, and we are the landmarks commission.

0:30

Today is Wednesday, August 5th.

0:34

Oh, you mean my theater voice isn't enough?

0:37

Which one do I want?

0:39

Here we go.

0:40

There we go.

0:41

Can you hear me now?

0:42

Check, check, check.

0:45

All right.

0:45

Good evening, everybody.

0:46

This is the city of Waukesha, and we are the landmarks commission.

0:49

Today is Wednesday, August 5th, 2026.

0:53

I'm calling this meeting to order, and we shall start with a roll call.

0:58

And Marty is gonna take it off.

1:00

Marty Larson.

1:03

Andrew Adorantes.

1:04

Carmen Delapaz.

1:05

Mike Rasine.

1:06

Matt Ratsack.

1:07

Tony Lonza.

1:10

Thank you.

1:11

We'll start out with any public comment if there's anybody here for public comment today.

1:17

Going, going, gone.

1:19

And we'll move on then to approval of minutes.

1:22

I'm looking for a motion, please.

1:27

Mike Racine will make a motion to approve last month's meeting minutes.

1:32

And a second.

1:37

Thank you.

1:43

Yep.

1:45

Aye.

1:48

You can vote if you've read the minutes.

1:57

Great.

1:58

Our meeting minutes have been approved.

2:01

And that's item 26-04066.

2:05

We are moving on to landmarks commission paint and repair grant funds.

2:09

Item 26-04078.

2:14

Charlie will give us a summary of the paint and repair grant funds as they stand today.

2:21

All right.

2:22

So as you know, uh paint and repair grants are approved on an increasing scale, roughly 15% of the cost of a project, up to a maximum of $3,000.

2:36

But the landmarks commission uh can use discretion to change award amounts based on project scope, overall impact, fund availability, or any other circumstances.

2:48

So this year we had $25,000.

2:51

And we have had all of the uh projects from last year uh completed and those funds have been uh dispersed as of I believe that's as of this month.

3:02

Uh the last one was uh was finished.

3:05

Um so we are at zero dollars left over from last year, and for this year uh you've approved grants totaling thirteen thousand twenty-seven dollars and fifty cents.

3:16

So we have uh 11,972.50 cents uh available for additional grants.

3:25

And uh as always approvals will need to be conditional on approval from Wakeshaw County and the SHIPO compliance.

3:33

Perfect, thank you so much.

3:36

We'll start with old business for the landmarks commission paint and repair grant for 311 McCall Street.

3:43

Uh we held last time.

3:45

All right, yep.

3:46

Uh so this is 311 McCall Street.

3:49

It's on the south side of McCall Street, uh right between Charles and James Street in the McCall Street Historic District.

3:57

And this is the uh Charles H.

4:00

Howard House that was built in 1890, and it has a front gabled architectural style, and it is a contributing house in the McCall Street Historic District.

4:10

Um it has a uh stone foundation, which you can see here on both sides of the building.

4:17

Um doesn't extend to the porch, but it does uh it does include the entire uh house.

4:23

Um it was in need of some tuck pointing to uh repair the mortar.

4:28

Uh the applicants had noted that uh the new mortar will match the hardness and texture of the existing mortar, and it will match the color as closely as possible.

4:37

And there were a couple spots where uh the Mason believed that stone replacement would be necessary.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████73%
Procedural██████████16%
Public Engagement████6%
Water And Wastewater Management██3%
Technology and Innovation█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Waukesha Landmarks Commission Meeting – August 5, 2026

The Waukesha Landmarks Commission met on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 6:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. Six members were present (Matt Retzak, Marty Larson, Carmen De La Paz, Tony Lanza, Andrea Dorantes, Mike Chrisien); Linda Gourdoux was absent at start but arrived during the meeting. The commission approved the minutes of July 1, 2026, and received an update on the Paint & Repair Grant Funds: $25,000 budgeted for 2026, with $13,027.50 already committed, leaving $11,972.50 available for future grants.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public offered comment during the public comment period.

Discussion Items

  • 311 McCall Street – Paint & Repair Grant (Old Business): The commission approved a $450 grant for tuckpointing at the Charles H. Howard House (1890) in the McCall Street Historic District. The applicant, Wendy Muller, noted the contractor used appropriate soft mortar. The grant was held from July 1, 2026.
  • 517 Madison Street – Certificate of Appropriateness & Grant: Reviewed a request to replace cedar shake roof sections on the Captain Elihu Anos House (1885, Queen Anne). Owner Richard and Ann expressed intent to match cedar. Grant of $1,000 (above the 15% estimate of $950) was approved to encourage historic materials.
  • 218 N Charles Street – COA & Grant: Consultation request to repaint wood siding in existing colors (white with green trim). Owner Carol Ann Kaye and Larry Barthen attended. Grant of $1,600 approved for painting of house and garage.
  • 124 Windsor Drive – COA & Grant: Request to repair and repaint wood siding on the Edward J. Burns House (1929, vernacular) in Caples Park Historic District. Niece Deanna O'Connell represented the owner in memory care. Commissioners suggested removing non-historic shutters, and the niece agreed. Grant of $2,500 approved.
  • 818 N East Avenue – COA for St. Joseph's Church: Approved tuckpointing and window caulking for the individually designated landmark. Andy Dieski represented the church.
  • 202 W College Avenue – COA & Grant: Consultation request to repaint wood siding in light blue with gray trim; owner Nick Vashik confirmed repairs are holding. Commissioners discussed removing plastic shutters. Grant of $3,200 approved (maximum exceeded 15% of $22,360 total estimate).
  • 445 W Newhall Avenue – Mitigation Options: Discussion on potential demolition of the Art Deco Water Utility pump house (National Register). Commissioners recommended a historic marker at the site plus a digital exhibit describing Waukesha's water history. Commissioner Tony Lanza offered to help produce digital content. This input will be conveyed to the State Historic Preservation Office.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved Minutes of July 1, 2026 (unanimous).
  • Approved all Certificates of Appropriateness as stated (all unanimous).
  • Approved Paint & Repair Grants: $450 (311 McCall), $1,000 (517 Madison), $1,600 (218 N Charles), $2,500 (124 Windsor), $3,200 (202 W College) – all conditional on Waukesha County and SHPO approval.
  • Mitigation Recommendation for 445 W Newhall: Commission supports a combined historic marker on site and a digital exhibit as mitigation for potential demolition.

The meeting also included an Alderman's Report (upcoming events: National Night Out, Finance Committee meeting at City Garage, Traveling War on Terror Wall, Waukesha Unlocked) and a Springs Report (cleanup planned with 22 student volunteers). Communications noted the Wisconsin Local History and Historic Preservation Conference and volunteer opportunities for Waukesha Unlocked tours.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everybody. This is the city of Waukesha, and we are the landmarks commission. Today is Wednesday, August 5th. Oh, you mean my theater voice isn't enough? Which one do I want? Here we go. There we go. Can you hear me now? Check, check, check. All right. Good evening, everybody. This is the city of Waukesha, and we are the landmarks commission. Today is Wednesday, August 5th, 2026. I'm calling this meeting to order, and we shall start with a roll call. And Marty is gonna take it off. Marty Larson. Andrew Adorantes. Carmen Delapaz. Mike Rasine. Matt Ratsack. Tony Lonza. Thank you. We'll start out with any public comment if there's anybody here for public comment today. Going, going, gone. And we'll move on then to approval of minutes. I'm looking for a motion, please. Mike Racine will make a motion to approve last month's meeting minutes. And a second. Thank you. Yep. Aye. You can vote if you've read the minutes. Great. Our meeting minutes have been approved. And that's item 26-04066. We are moving on to landmarks commission paint and repair grant funds. Item 26-04078. Charlie will give us a summary of the paint and repair grant funds as they stand today. All right. So as you know, uh paint and repair grants are approved on an increasing scale, roughly 15% of the cost of a project, up to a maximum of $3,000. But the landmarks commission uh can use discretion to change award amounts based on project scope, overall impact, fund availability, or any other circumstances. So this year we had $25,000. And we have had all of the uh projects from last year uh completed and those funds have been uh dispersed as of I believe that's as of this month. Uh the last one was uh was finished. Um so we are at zero dollars left over from last year, and for this year uh you've approved grants totaling thirteen thousand twenty-seven dollars and fifty cents. So we have uh 11,972.50 cents uh available for additional grants. And uh as always approvals will need to be conditional on approval from Wakeshaw County and the SHIPO compliance. Perfect, thank you so much. We'll start with old business for the landmarks commission paint and repair grant for 311 McCall Street. Uh we held last time.

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