Arlington Historical Society

Beginnings and Progress:

A Look Back at the First Four Years

October 1999 – December 2003

BEGINNINGS

In April 1999, the Arlington City Council unanimously approved a motion to develop a five-year plan for the city of Arlington. The City invited its citizens to participate in a forum to look at the various aspects of the community, and in May 1999, approximately 25 people attended that first meeting. From that initial meeting, a planning committee was formed to do a self-study, in which every aspect of the city was considered. That group met over the next several months and developed a Long-Range Plan for the city listing various goals or objectives for the next several years. Each of those goals was then assigned to the appropriate committee or organization.

One of those objectives in that long-range plan was the “Rehabilitation and Preservation Goal Statement.” This statement provided the directive to preserve the history of Arlington by restoring or preserving buildings which reflected the city’s history.

Rehabilitation and Preservation Goal Statement:

With the growing attention to and concern for our past, the best interests of Arlington would be served by the city undertaking and supporting those activities which would preserve its history for future generations. Activities related to this goal will include:

1. Rehabilitation and preservation efforts should be focused primarily along the Main Street of Arlington. The first few projects should include the old fire hall, the old bank building, and the Les Morreim building.

• Responsibility: Historic Task Force Committee

• Timing: Ongoing

2. Rehabilitation and preservation efforts should also extend out to the existing housing stock and neighborhoods.

• Responsibility: Historic Task Force Committee

• Timing: Ongoing

HISTORIC TASK FORCE COMMITTEE

Because there was no existing organization responsible for this objective, the Historic Task Force Committee was created, and subsequently, Mayor Dave Czech appointed Curtis Boeder, Greg Goblirsch, Dwight Grabitske, Mike Spannaus and Pauline Wiemann to the committee. The only directive to the committee was the “Rehabilitation and Preservation Goal Statement” which provided the focus and outlined the work for the committee.

The committee met for the first time on Monday, 25 October 1999, and the first order of business was to select officers; Curt Boeder was elected Chairman, Mike Spannaus, Treasurer, and Dwight Grabitske, Secretary. The committee also looked at its name and decided to change the name of the committee to Arlington Historic Restoration and Preservation Committee, to better reflect the purpose and focus of the committee, and the first priority of the committee was the restoration of the facade of the old Fire Hall.

Photo from Dwight Grabitske Collection, 2000

Curt Boeder, Mike Spannaus, Greg Goblirsch, Dwight Grabitske

The committee had contacted architect Jim Goblirsch, who was experienced in historic building restoration, and Mr. Goblirsch advised the committee to contact the State Historic Preservation Office for guidance on procedures to be followed enabling the project to be eligible for grants. He also advised that the group needed to have an organizational structure and stated that we needed to contact other historic preservation groups doing similar projects to learn from their experiences. He also recommended that the group have an 8 x 10 picture of the Fire Hall.

ARLINGTON HISTORIC

RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION COMMITTEE

The committee established short-range objectives to get the project started:

• 1.