The village of Mokena Board of Trustees met Sept. 12 to discuss the landmark status of Pioneer Cemetery.
Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the board:
"The Village of Mokena Board of Trustees is located at 11004 Carpenter St, Mokena, IL 60448."
BOARD OF TRUSTEES WORK SESSION
11004 Carpenter Street, Mokena, Illinois 60448
Monday, September 12, 2016
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Fleischer called the Board of Trustees Work Session to order at 8:17 p.m.
ROLL CALL
The following Trustees were present:
John Mazzorana
Joseph Budzyn
Jim Richmond
Debbie Engler
George Metanias
Absent: Trustee Joseph Siwinski
Also present were the following: Village Clerk Patricia Patt; Village Administrator John
Tomasoski, Assistant Village Administrator Kirk Zoellner; Community/Economic
Development Director Alan Zordan and Village Engineer Paul Pearson.
19836 S. Wolf Road Rezone and Special Use
Community/Economic Development Director Alan Zordan presented this case
Discussion: The consensus of the Board was to support the façade grant request and pursue the installation of a curbing and sidewalk in front of the building at Village expense to better define the access points to the property. The Board also wanted Village staff to contact Commonwealth Edison regarding the possible relocation of the utility pole located in the middle of the drive aisle near Aurelio’s. Staff will work with legal counsel to prepare the final documents for Board approval.
Historic Preservation Status for Pioneer Cemetery Assistant Village Administrator Kirk Zoellner presented this topic.
Pioneer Cemetery was nominated in early June of this year for county landmark status through the Will County Historic Preservation Program. The nomination was submitted by Matt Galik, a local historian and Will County Historic Preservation Commission member.
Mr. Galik previously nominated a historic Greek Revival home located at 11122 Third Street for county landmark status. The Board in due course supported that nomination, and the property was designated a county landmark in 2011.
In July, Village staff met with Janine Wilkosz, Preservation Program Manager with Will County, regarding the nomination and potential future land use limitations on property ultimately designated with landmark status by the County.
Given that Pioneer is a cemetery, Ms. Wilkosz indicated that the only real confines associated with landmark status for the property would involve the grave markers themselves. The County would need to be consulted prior to any restoration work being performed on grave markers, including cleaning and repairs. Landmark status would impose no new land use limitations on neighboring properties, nor would it have any impact on the maintenance of other artifacts in the cemetery, including the World War II-era cannon recently proposed for refurbishment by the Mokena VFW.
Regarding the nomination itself, Ms. Wilkosz indicated it will not go forward for formal consideration by the Historic Preservation Commission unless/until Mokena’s Board of Trustees has approved an agreement supporting the Commission’s designation of Pioneer as a county landmark. A draft agreement has been provided by Historic Preservation staff for the Board’s review. If the Board eventually wishes to support moving forward with designation of Pioneer as a county landmark, Village staff will work with legal counsel to refine the agreement or alternatively develop a new document that satisfies both the Village’s and the County’s needs.
Should Pioneer in time attain landmark status, it could potentially open up the Village for future preservation-related funding opportunities through Will County.
Discussion:
The Board generally supported moving forward with backing the designation of Pioneer Cemetery as a county landmark and directed Village staff to work with legal counsel and Will County Historic Preservation Commission staff on drafting an agreement for potential future approval consideration by the Board. Trustee Budzyn asked staff and legal counsel to fashion the agreement in such a way as to protect the Village’s interests and options in the future in the event State or County historic preservation law should change (potentially opening the door for new restrictions on the Pioneer Cemetery property itself and/or adjoining properties).
Adjournment
There being no further business to bring before the Mayor and Board of Trustees, Mayor Fleischer adjourned the work session at 9:05 p.m.
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