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Wisconsin Rapids commission recommends University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee to prepare National Register nominations
Summary
At its July 16 meeting, the Wisconsin Rapids Historical Preservation Commission recommended selecting the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) to prepare nominations to the National Register of Historic Places after reviewing four proposals; staff said final approval will proceed to the common council and UWM aims to submit to the State Historic Preservation Office by July 2027.
The Wisconsin Rapids Historical Preservation Commission on July 16 recommended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee to prepare nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, after staff said UWM submitted the strongest proposal from four responses.
Liz, a staff member, told commissioners that she and Kyle Kearns independently reviewed four proposals against the request-for-bids criteria — general quality, technical approach, at least five years of regional National Register experience, and reasonable cost — and concluded that two finalists were strong but that UWM’s submittal was the strongest. "They had a clear descriptive methodology and timeline," Liz said. She added UWM’s proposal was below the available grant amount and noted UWM’s familiarity with the community from last year’s intensive survey.
Liz said Legacy Architecture also submitted a strong application but had proposed using the full grant amount; staff favored UWM in part because its bid was under the grant amount and its experience matched the commission’s needs. Liz estimated the UWM proposal at about $27,000.
Under the schedule staff described, UWM would complete its work and submit a final draft to the State Historic Preservation Office with a target submission in July 2027; the nomination would then move on to the National Register for review. Liz said staff will provide commission updates as they are available and that UWM is willing to attend any required public meetings prior to and upon completion of its work.
A commission member moved to recommend UWM; the chair said he was "comfortable with University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee." The provided transcript does not record a formal second or a roll-call vote on the motion. Liz said the recommendation had been approved earlier by finance and property and that the commission’s action would be followed by final approval to the common council next week.
Staff described next steps as executing the contract with UWM, notifying the commission by email about contract status and scheduling any required presentations, and returning with nominations for commission review when ready. Liz told the commission she did not expect additional commission actions in the coming months while the consultant conducts site visits and research.
The commission did not record detailed public-engagement plans during the discussion; a member asked how the community would be notified and involved, and Liz said she would follow up with more details about any required or planned public meetings.
