OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Waukesha Landmarks Commission Meeting - September 2, 2026

Public Meetings — Wednesday, September 2, 2026
BodyWaukesha, Wisconsin
SessionPublic Meetings
DateWednesday, September 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 54:00

Transcript — Verbatim
0:23

Hit it.

0:24

Hit it.

0:25

Good evening, everybody.

0:27

This is September 2nd, 2026.

0:30

We are the landmarks commission.

0:32

This is the city of Walkershaw, and I'd like to call this meeting to order.

0:36

I'll start with a roll call to my left with Marty.

0:40

Marty Larson.

0:41

Linda Gordot.

0:44

Andrew Adrantez.

0:45

Carmen Delapaz.

0:46

Mike Christine.

0:47

Matt Ratsack.

0:48

Tony Alonzo.

0:50

Perfect.

0:51

And we're gonna move on to public comment.

0:54

And go ahead.

1:03

Bob Sulb 434 Madison Street.

1:08

Seems defunct, but uh just bring it up as far as the springs.

1:11

I didn't see anything and any notifications of any fall spring cleanup.

1:15

I know there wasn't a spring springs cleanup.

1:18

And uh Miniska is in very much disrepair.

1:21

Um finally after hip revision surgery, I was able to go down there and see what it looked like.

1:26

There's trees across the pathway, there's sludge down at the bottom of the spring.

1:30

And so it would require uh a volunteer time to clean it up.

1:33

And so my I more posing the question if there's not going to be a sanctioned uh landmark springs fall cleanup that I would arrange to get um volunteers to to get that cleaned up.

1:45

So I don't know if that's something I have to get permission from.

1:47

Um sign waivers.

1:49

I know I've done a lot of stuff myself over the years, um, but I'd probably uh get uh a volunteer base using uh social media that I'm using called Spring Keepers uh to keep up on stuff like that and keep uh advocacy for uh historical knowledge base for it and doing that.

2:06

So kind of an open question, possibly to Charlie.

2:10

Like if I do a volunteer spring cleanup, we do have a group that's planning to come.

2:15

You are planning it?

2:16

Yes.

2:17

Okay.

2:17

It's it's a it's not a not a um public.

2:23

Yeah, it's a it's a group that's that's able to do it.

2:26

Okay.

2:26

So let's stick to the public comment for this one, and then we can bring it up later at the end of the meeting when we actually have it on that part of the agenda.

2:33

Okay but I appreciate everything that you do, Bob, so much.

2:37

And if we do decide that we would love to get your help, we will certainly reach out to you, I promise.

2:42

Okay.

2:43

Thank you.

2:43

Cool.

2:44

And we'll discuss it further later on in the agenda.

2:47

Thank you, Bob.

2:49

Okay.

2:51

Anyone else here for public comment?

2:54

Okay.

2:55

So we are moving on to approval for minutes, and I'm looking for a motion, please.

3:01

I'll make a motion to approve the minutes as listed on the agenda.

3:05

And a second.

3:08

Oh I'll second.

3:10

Perfect.

3:10

We'll vote.

3:13

Idem number two six zero four two two three meeting minutes of August 5th, 2026 have been approved.

3:27

Moving on to the landmarks commission paint and repair grant funds.

3:32

Um Charlie's gonna give us a summary.

3:34

This is item number two six-zero four two five eight, and we have a interesting conundrum that we shall deal with after Charlie explains it to us.

3:46

All right.

3:47

Uh so uh as you know, uh the landmarks commission paint repair grants are typically approved uh on an increasing scale, uh, roughly 15% of the cost of a project up to $3,000 max.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████63%
Budget Equity Analysis█████████████18%
Parks and Recreation█████7%
Public Engagement████6%
Procedural███4%
Engineering And Infrastructure█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Waukesha Landmarks Commission Meeting - September 2, 2026

The Landmarks Commission met on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers at Waukesha City Hall. Roll call was taken with members Marty Larson, Linda Gordot, Andrew Adrantez, Carmen Delapaz, Mike Christine, Matt Ratsack, and Tony Alonzo (Chair) present. The meeting covered public comments, approval of minutes, a paint and repair grant fund status update, certificates of appropriateness for three properties, grant allocations, and reports from the alderman, spring cleanup, and communications.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the August 5, 2026 meeting (ID#26-04223) were approved unanimously by voice vote after a motion and second.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Bob Sulb (434 Madison Street) raised concerns about the condition of Miniska Spring, noting fallen trees, sludge, and the absence of a fall cleanup. He proposed organizing a volunteer cleanup through his "Spring Keepers" social media group and asked for permission. The Commission deferred discussion to the Springs Report section later in the agenda.

Discussion Items

  • Paint and Repair Grant Fund Summary (ID#26-04258): Staff member Charlie presented an update. The 2026 fund had an initial $25,000 allocation. After 13 grants totaling $21,777.50, only $3,222.50 remained. Three new applications (321 S. Hartwell Ave, 308 McCall St, 1222 E. Broadway) exceeded the remaining funds. Charlie presented four options for proportional distribution and recommended hearing the Certificates of Appropriateness (COAs) before making grant decisions. The Commission agreed to this sequence.

  • Certificate of Appropriateness for 321 S. Hartwell Ave (ID#26-04224): Applicant Bill Kirsch (property owner) requested to replace wood siding with LP SmartSide composite siding on sides and rear, replace flat roof and shingles on the non-historic rear attached garage, replace storm windows, gutters, and consider shutter removal. Staff recommended approval. Commissioners discussed the garage may be original (1937) and suggested shutters should be removed or sized appropriately. Motion to approve the COA with the condition that shutters, if removed, remain off. Passed unanimously.

  • Certificate of Appropriateness for 308 McCall St (ID#26-04240): Applicant Phyllis Flores (owner) requested a consultation to repaint wood trim sections and repair minor rot on this pivotal house in the McCall Street Historic District. Staff recommended approval. Commissioners noted the shutters would be removed. Motion to approve passed unanimously.

  • Certificate of Appropriateness for 1222 E. Broadway (ID#26-04256): Applicant Tony Lonzo (owner) requested to replace a garage door (already replaced under emergency due to unsafe condition) with an aluminum door with Stockton-style windows to match historic photos, and repair windows and storm door. The attached garage door (non-historic) was replaced without windows. Staff recommended approval. Motion to approve passed unanimously.

  • Paint and Repair Grant Awards: After hearing COAs, the Commission discussed grant allocation. Tony Lonzo noted his garage door portion was non-historic, reducing his project cost to $11,835. Charlie recalculated using a modified Option 4 approach. The final allocations were:

    • 321 S. Hartwell Ave: $1,280.60 (motion, second, approved with one abstention)
    • 308 McCall St: $758.40 (motion, second, approved with one abstention)
    • 1222 E. Broadway: $1,183.50 (motion, second, approved with one abstention) All grants were made conditional on SHIPO approval.

  • Springs Report: Bob Sulb's earlier concern was addressed. Tony has a volunteer group planning cleanup at Miniska Spring in early October (either October 5 or 7). The parks department will deliver wood chips, and forestry will clear fallen trees. Additional work at Hobo and ACME Springs was mentioned. The spring tour during Waukesha Unlocked (Oct 11) was discussed; volunteers are needed to lead tours.

  • Alderman's Report: The alderman noted the Parks and Rec guide is out, with events including Oktoberfest and Waukesha Unlocked (Oct 10-11). Volunteers are encouraged via the park department.

  • Communications and Publications: Marty and Carmen volunteered to lead spring tours. A script is available, and additional volunteers are welcome.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved certificates of appropriateness for 321 S. Hartwell Ave, 308 McCall St, and 1222 E. Broadway.
  • Allocated $3,222.50 in paint and repair grant funds across three properties: $1,280.60 (Hartwell), $758.40 (McCall), $1,183.50 (Broadway), all conditional on SHIPO approval.
  • Planned volunteer spring cleanup for early October and spring tours on October 11 during Waukesha Unlocked.

Meeting Transcript

Hit it. Hit it. Good evening, everybody. This is September 2nd, 2026. We are the landmarks commission. This is the city of Walkershaw, and I'd like to call this meeting to order. I'll start with a roll call to my left with Marty. Marty Larson. Linda Gordot. Andrew Adrantez. Carmen Delapaz. Mike Christine. Matt Ratsack. Tony Alonzo. Perfect. And we're gonna move on to public comment. And go ahead. Bob Sulb 434 Madison Street. Seems defunct, but uh just bring it up as far as the springs. I didn't see anything and any notifications of any fall spring cleanup. I know there wasn't a spring springs cleanup. And uh Miniska is in very much disrepair. Um finally after hip revision surgery, I was able to go down there and see what it looked like. There's trees across the pathway, there's sludge down at the bottom of the spring. And so it would require uh a volunteer time to clean it up. And so my I more posing the question if there's not going to be a sanctioned uh landmark springs fall cleanup that I would arrange to get um volunteers to to get that cleaned up. So I don't know if that's something I have to get permission from. Um sign waivers. I know I've done a lot of stuff myself over the years, um, but I'd probably uh get uh a volunteer base using uh social media that I'm using called Spring Keepers uh to keep up on stuff like that and keep uh advocacy for uh historical knowledge base for it and doing that. So kind of an open question, possibly to Charlie. Like if I do a volunteer spring cleanup, we do have a group that's planning to come. You are planning it? Yes. Okay. It's it's a it's not a not a um public. Yeah, it's a it's a group that's that's able to do it. Okay. So let's stick to the public comment for this one, and then we can bring it up later at the end of the meeting when we actually have it on that part of the agenda. Okay but I appreciate everything that you do, Bob, so much. And if we do decide that we would love to get your help, we will certainly reach out to you, I promise. Okay. Thank you. Cool. And we'll discuss it further later on in the agenda. Thank you, Bob. Okay. Anyone else here for public comment? Okay. So we are moving on to approval for minutes, and I'm looking for a motion, please. I'll make a motion to approve the minutes as listed on the agenda.

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