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Landmarks Commission Minutes April 20, 2025 Members Present: Raivo Balciunas, Dave Barnes, Megan Beer-Pemberton, Aaron Brewster, Robert Gough, John Gyorfi Members Absent: Bob Tollefson Staff Present: Peter Baumgartner, Ned Noel The following items were on the agenda: 1. Call to order Secretary Balciunas called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. 2. Roll call Roll was taken and a quorum was present. 3. Open public comment period for items that do not appear on this agenda. a. Janice Wnukowski, president of the Eau Claire Historic Preservation Foundation announced that the foundation was going to be disband due to a lack of new members. She mentioned grants would be available to expend their funds. 4. Introduction of new members. Members Beer-Pemberton and Gyorfi were introduced to the Commission. 5. Election of Officers a. Chair i. Raivo Balciunas was nominated by Commissioner Brewster, second by Commissioner Barnes, and approved unanimously. b. Vice-chair i. Megan Beer-Pemberton was nominated by Commissioner Brewster, second by Commissioner Gough, and approved unanimously. c. Secretary i. Robert Gough nominated himself for the position, second by Commissioner Brewster, and approved unanimously. 6. Approval of the 11/17/25 Minutes Motion by Commissioner Gough to approve the Landmarks Commission minutes, seconded by Commissioner Brewster, and approved unanimously. 7. Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) – 420 Hudson Street Baumgartner went over the application, noting the property was built in 1936 and is classified as “contributing” to the Randall Park Historic District Plan. No architectural style was identified. He noted the changes that the applicant was seeking to implement: • Residing with a D4 Regatta siding that will cover the existing shake siding. • The removal of any rotten wood around the bottom of the house. • The building out of the windows to be finished with flat white raps to provide a clean, modern look. He stated that the residing, by itself, appears to meet the standards of Section V.F of the plan, but the other proposed work is for the commission to judge. The commissioners discussed the proposal in detail, examining properties up and down street, whether it was practical to replace certain elements such as the “eyebrows” over the garage, how much siding was on the building, and which elements were crucial to preserve. Staff had noted during the discussion that they did not know how much of a budget the property owner was working with and recommended that the Landmarks Commission may approve the Certificate of Appropriateness subject to the applicant working with the Commission’s Architect and staff to preserve the character of the structure. With the applicant and the owner not being in attendance, the commission ultimately decided to postpone their decision and directed staff to have the applicant do the following: • Revise the design of the building to provide greater continuity between the porch and house in regard to the width of the vertical elements (matching the width of the vertical columns on the house), and • See the preservation of the accents at the vertical corners (the tops of the existing vertical columns), and • Consider adding shutters to the structure as they were depicted on the original survey. Motion to postpone the certificate to the next meeting by Commissioner Brewster, second by Commissioner Gough, and approved unanimously. 8. Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) – 1310 State Street (The Drummond House) Baumgartner introduced the topic of The Drummond House noting it is considered to be a “pivotal” structure to the Third Ward Historic District. It was built in 1888 and the 1982 survey called it one of the finest examples of the Queen Anne Style in Eau Claire. He noted that it was struck by lightning in September of 2025 and suffered a catastrophic fire. Since then, it has been open to the elements and has seen a significant mold growth due to the water used in fighting the fire. In the discussion that occurred between Ed Garlic with EDJ Rentals (owner) and the Landmarks Commission, a myriad of things were discussed. Highlights of the discussion include the following: • EDJ had plans to continue to invest in the structure, to the point that they had a new hot water boiler in the basement that was ready to be installed when the fire occurred. • They were looking at doing asbestos removal, reclamation of usable materials and then demolishing the structure. The goal of the reclamation was to salvage materials for the future build or to donate to other historic restoration projects. The demolition would not be occurring until July at the earliest. • They did have full insurance coverage for the structure, but it was not enough to be able to cover the full restoration. • EDJ did not know if they would be rebuilding it themselves, but they noted that if they did rebuild, it would not be until 2029 or 2030. The Commissioners expressed that they would be more comfortable with a future project if EDJ was reconstructing it themselves. • Commissioners noted that they wanted the new build to follow procedure and have it emulate the “character” of the original. When the discussion ended, a motion was made by Commissioner Gough to approve the COA for the demolition, it was seconded by Commissioner Beer-Pemberton, and approved unanimously. 9. Update Forest Hill Cemetery Baumgartner noted that staff had received a draft of the nomination and that they should expect to have it presented in the next few meetings. 10. Update – Commission Budget Baumgartner noted that at the end of last year, the commission’s small budget was eliminated because of overall City funding issues. As a result, there is not any funding for any Historic Preservation Month activities or future landmark property signs. No new or repair sign requests have come in thus far. Staff will keep the commission updated on any demand for future budget requests. 11. Future agenda items and announcements I. Future Agenda Items: a. Further consideration of a COA for 420 Hudson Street b. COA – Renovations of the Carson Park Baseball Field Grand Stands c. Presentation by Consultant on National Landmarking of Forest Hill Cemetery 12. Adjournment Chair Balciunas called for adjournment of the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Submitted by, Raivo Balciunas, Secretary