Minutes_Historic Preservation Commission 01.15.26City of Dubuque
City Council
CONSENT ITEMS # 1.
Copyrighted
March 2, 2026
ITEM TITLE: Minutes and Reports Submitted
SUMMARY: City Council Proceedings of February 16, 2026; Airport
Commission of December 2, 2025; Arts and Cultural Affairs
Advisory Commission of December 16, 2025; Cable TV
Commission of December 17, 2025; Civil Service
Commission of January 14 and February 11, 2026; Historic
Preservation Commission of January 15, 2026; Human
Rights Commission of January 13, 2026; Library Board of
Trustees Minutes and Update of December 18, 2025 and
Update of and January 22, 2026; Parks and Recreation
Commission of Janaury 21, 2026.
SUGGUESTED Receive and File
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
1. 2 16 26 City Council Minutes
2. 26 01 14 Civil Service Minutes
3. 26 02 11 Civil Service Minutes
4. Library Board Council_Update_12-18
5. Library Board Council_Update_01-22
6. Historic Preservation Commission 01-15-26
7. January 13, 2026 Human Rights Commission Minutes
8. Parks and Recreation Minutes 1.21.26
9. Airport Commission Minutes of December 2 2025
10. Cable TV Commission Meeting Minutes
11. Arts Commission Minutes 12.16.25
12. Library Board of Trustees December Meeting Minutes
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Dubuque
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2007-2012.2013
Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2017*2019
MINUTES
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
REGULAR SESSION
5:30 p.m.
Thursday, January 15, 2026
City Council Chambers, Historic Federal Building
Commissioners Present: Chairperson Janice Esser; Commissioners, Bill Doyle, Tim
Gau, Heidi Pettitt, Rick Stuter, Chad Witthoeft
Commissioners Excused: Adam Schwendinger, Chirsty Monk
Commissioners Unexcused: None
Staff Members Present: Wally Wernimont, Chris Happ Olson, and Travis Schrobilgen.
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Janice Esser at
5:30 p.m.
MINUTES: Motion by Pettitt, seconded by Gau, to approve the minutes of December
18, 2025, meeting as submitted. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye — Janice
Esser, Bill Doyle, Tim Gau, Heidi Pettitt, Rick Stuter, Chad Witthoeft, Nay — none.
ACTION ITEMS: None.
ITEMS FROM PUBLIC: None.
Chairperson Esser, seeing no one from the public, moved an ITEM FROM STAFF to
the front of the meeting.
2026 Historic Preservation Commission Workplan
Staff member Happ Olson presented the workplan, which was reviewed in the previous
meeting. She noted that changes were made to include those items that are annually
recurring, or on -going, as differentiated in red font and discussed in a manner that
shows their annual change and renewal. She noted other items that the Commission
does were added to the list in order to better track and report the actual activity. She
asked if there were additional items not on the list.
The Commission reviewed the list noting that those shown were all discussed and that
the work plan looks good. Update to two issues was proposed and agreed upon.
Motion by Pettitt, seconded by Doyle, to approve the workplan and to recommend that
City Council review and adopt the workplan. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye —
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Minutes — Historic Preservation Commission
January 15, 2026
Page 2
Janice Esser, Bill Doyle, Tim Gau, Heidi Pettitt, Chad Witthoeft, and Rick Stuter; Nay —
none.
ITEMS FROM COMMISSION:
Awards Criteria Discussion:
Request from Commission at Dec. 2025 meeting to discuss criteria and process for
Awards ceremony (see items from staff).
Staff member Happ Olson noted the following are the criteria for the Ken Kringle
Historic Preservation Awards:
• The project meets the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and
City of Dubuque Architectural Guidelines.
• The property owner has followed all proper procedures and obtained all the
required permits.
• The project was largely completed the previous calendar year (but we've also
allowed this to flow over into the spring of the current year).
• The structure has historical significance, or is making a positive impact in a
historic district.
• The structure has had great visual impact from its "before" and "after"
appearance.
Olson noted the following past awardees that "broke tradition":
• In 2025. A posthumous award was given to Duane Hagerty, and created in his
name to recognize a special effort of excellence.
• In 2024, an award was given for a small rehabilitation in a conservation district
for 105 Locust Street, as a commercial reuse serving as a gateway to downtown,
across the street from restoration projects in historic districts.
• In 2023, the Commission gave an award for neighborhood impact with the
conversion of Vogel Paints into Voices Studio, for a non-contributing building in a
National Register Historic District.
• In 2022, the Commission gave a Lifetime Achievement award to Mike Gibson.
• In 2021, the Commission gave an award for a rehabilitation of a previously non-
contributing structure (1638 Central Avenue) to be more in keeping with the
National Register district in which resides.
Olson discussed the Commission's ability to modify or change the criteria and noted
that the Commission has been flexible with the specific criteria.
Commissioner Doyle stated that he appreciated the flexibility they've used in selecting
awardees which has allowed for some deserving properties and people to receive
awards. Chairperson Esser agreed, stating that she views it that a project does not
need to meet all the criteria but should meet most of them. Pettitt pointed to possibly
rewording the criteria "The structure has had a great visual impact from its "before" and
"after" appearance."
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Minutes — Historic Preservation Commission
January 15, 2026
Page 3
The commission generally approved of the criteria but by consensus, asked staff to
modify and provide options for review for the criteria in question.
ITEMS FROM STAFF:
Awards for 2026
Olson discussed the list of nominations. The Commission reviewed the potential
awardees and added the Ham House and 2901 Central buildings to the list, provided
there were no issues with those projects. The list of awards includes 890 W 3rd Street,
799 Main Street, 346-348 W. Locust Street, 1706 Central Avenue, Ham House, and
2901 Central Avenue, in addition to Duane Hagerty Award for Preservation Excellence
to Randy Lyon/Encyclopedia Dubuque. The Commission had a consensus to move
forward with awards for all the items except 432 Bluff Street.
Motion by Doyle, seconded by Pettitt to select 7 nominees for Awards. Motion carried by
the following vote: Aye — Janice Esser, Bill Doyle, Tim Gau, Heidi Pettitt, Chad
Witthoeft, and Rick Stuter; Nay — none.
Unified Development Code (UDC) update
Staff discussed the current status of the UDC code, which is being updated. They
described that the demolition sections are not clear and staff is working on rewriting that
section. They noted that it would be coming back for review at the next meeting.
Chairperson Esser left the meeting at 6:02 pm, and Vice -Chairperson Tim Gau
proceeded to lead the meeting.
Programmatic Agreement with the State Historic Preservation Office
Staff member Happ Olson noted that the City has been the recipient of HUD program
funding since 1997 and that it has been over a decade since the City and State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO) have had programmatic agreements for various HUD
funded programs for the purpose of simplifying the SHPO review for Section 106,
essentially lessening the bureaucracy for simple, straightforward projects when historic
resources are not affected negatively. She described Section 106, the requirements,
and the programs that would fall under a programmatic agreement. She stated that the
City began exploring a programmatic agreement in 2019 and drafting was in process by
2020, but stalled due to various staffing changes at the SHPO over the years. This fall,
SHPO took the process up again, it has gone through numerous iterations between the
SHPO and Planning Services office, with reviews and signoffs from City of Dubuque
Housing & Community Development and Legal Department reviews, Federal HUD and
Advisory Commission on Historic Preservation (ACHP) reviews, SHPO review, and that
a draft was made available online to the public, following a news flash by the City, and
outreach to relevant tribal entities who are stakeholders in Iowa resulted in hearing back
from the loway's Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) in which the THPO was in
strong favor of the agreement. She noted that neither the ACHP nor HUD desire or are
required to be a signatory, but both are in favor of the agreement.
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Minutes — Historic Preservation Commission
January 15, 2026
Page 4
She concluded by asking the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) to review the
document and recommended the Commission approve as submitted, with a
recommendation to City Council for review and adoption.
Motion by Pettitt, seconded by Doyle, to approve the Programmatic Agreement
Document and to recommend that City Council review and adopt it. Motion carried by
the following vote: Aye — Bill Doyle, Tim Gau, Heidi Pettitt, Chad Witthoeft, and Rick
Stuter; Nay — none.
Request for Qualifications for Eagle Point Park Fundraising Consultant
Happ Olson described the opportunity for funding noting that the Jeffris Family
Foundation funding would advance the recommendations from last year's Historic
Structures Report. She noted that fund raising would be required per the stipulations of
the Jeffris Family Foundation and noted that city staff cannot fundraise. She said a
consultant would do a three-year fundraising campaign which, if successful, would allow
the Jeffris funding to be granted. She noted that a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was
need to bring in a fundraising consultant and that it should be released the next week.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Doyle, seconded by Stuter to adjourn the January 15,
2026, Historic Preservation Commission meeting. Motion carried by the following vote:
Aye — Bill Doyle, Tim Gau, Heidi Pettitt, Chad Witthoeft and Stuter; Nay — none.
The meeting adjourned at 6:21 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ily Wirymo , Planning Services Director
February 19, 2026
Adopted
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