Landmarks Commission splits remaining $3,222.50 in paint-and-repair grants among three homeowners

The Waukesha Landmarks Commission on Sept. 2 approved a plan to divide the remaining $3,222.50 in its 2026 paint-and-repair grant fund among three pending applicants.

Staff member Charlie told the commission the program began the year with a $25,000 allocation, and that $21,777.50 in grants had already been approved, leaving $3,222.50 available. He presented several options for allocating the balance, including prorating by project size, capping the largest project for fairness and reducing some awards to 10% of estimated cost. Charlie recommended a proportional approach after limiting nonhistoric work.

Commissioners ultimately approved separate motions to award $1,280.60 to the applicant at 321 South Hartwell, $758.40 to 308 McCall Street and $1,183.50 to 1222 East Broadway. The commission’s decision followed applicant clarifications that some portions of projects — notably garage openers and nonhistoric attachments — are not eligible for historic grant funds and should be excluded from the calculation.

"So for 2026 we had an initial grama fund approval of $25,000 and all of the 2025 projects have been completed so that the 2025 funds have all been allocated," Charlie said during the presentation, describing the available balance and the rationale for prorating awards.

The allocations were read into the record and approved in separate votes. The approvals are conditioned on required compliance reviews by Marshall County and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).