Commission advances website updates, CLG grant planning and walking‑tour ideas; schedules HTC workshop for May 19

Commissioners discussed several outreach and program items, including website updates, CLG grant planning, walking‑tour materials and an upcoming Historic Tax Credit (HTC) workshop.

The group agreed to split website work into two line items — revising the landing page and updating the landmarks map — and favored linking to the National Register nomination entries rather than duplicating content. Chair (S1) recommended asking Andrea at the historical society about the best linking approach because the society is redoing its hosting.

Commission members discussed creating web pages or hyperlinked entries for each National Register property but concluded that linking to the official National Park Service/Registry entries would keep content current without duplicative maintenance. They also discussed marker cleaning (eight markers cleaned with mild soapy water and nylon brushes), possible walking‑tour pamphlets and adding a self‑guided map; one commissioner offered to drop off a draft walking tour for staff review at the next meeting.

Staff member (S2) confirmed a widely shared calendar item: ‘‘It will be May 19 at 05:30PM at the Forum Room at the Monona Library.’’ S2 said the media department will build a flyer for the website and social channels and that the HTC workshop can coincide with the commission’s regular May meeting. The commission also discussed CLG grant options and drafting design guidelines to support Certificates of Appropriateness; a letter of intent for CLG funding was referenced with an August deadline in the 2026 timeline.

On document sharing, Chair (S1) cautioned that some nomination PDFs are redacted to exclude archaeological site locations and said staff will share password‑protected copies with commission members but asked members not to redistribute them: ‘‘the reason it's redacted is because of the archaeological sites on it, and, they cannot be shared with the public.’’

Staff will follow up with Justin on web updates, circulate HTC promotional materials and bring walking‑tour drafts and CLG application notes to future meetings.