By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
The Copperas Cove Historical Society has reached the one-year mark of its lease for Allin House, the home of the first mayor of Copperas Cove.
The historical society has had a lease from the City of Copperas Cove for the past year.
On Tuesday evening, the historical society’s president, Kelly Rios, gave the city council a rundown of the group’s activities over the past year, including the inspection and maintenance of the property, as well as fundraising and grant-seeking efforts.
Rios began her presentation admitting that the society had not had the required inspection yet.
Of the structure itself, Rios provided a rundown of what the society had done to care for the house and maintain it.
“We are especially mindful of preserving the history integrity of the property by using materials consistent with the original period,” she told the council.
Among the requirements of the annual lease was for the society to prepare and submit an inventory list of all personal property located within the building, with the group making that list and providing it to Parks & Recreation Director Jeff Stoddard.
“Over the past year, we have made significant efforts to maintain the property outside. We removed one dead tree, cleared weeds, trimmed hedges. Inside, we removed approved items, cleaned the floors, polished hardwood and furniture. We cleaned the brick surfaces on the fireplaces and refreshed the kitchen cabinetry,” she said. “We are also going to install window treatments to protect the furnishings and the floors from sun damage.
“Moving forward, we will implement a regular maintenance schedule, including monthly interior cleaning and routine lawn care, biweekly or as needed.”
Rios said that additional plans include removing more dead trees, ongoing landscaping and debris removal.
The society has opened electric and water/sewer accounts. The water account is with the City of Copperas Cove utilities, and per the agreement, the Historical Society is responsible for all utilities except the water usage, which is currently covered by the City.
Rios said that power and water are turned off when leaving the property to prevent unauthorized use.
Rios said that there were two individuals who were working on grant proposals on behalf of the historical society. However, one retired and the other “stepped away” from it. Rios said she has been looking for in-person training so she can learn to do the grant proposal writing herself.
In the meantime, the society is continuing its fundraising efforts, recently having had a spaghetti dinner fundraiser with food prepared by CCISD culinary students.
Next up is a Garden Tea Party in May, and a community wide yard sale in June.
“Along with the scheduling events for the remainder of the year, we are also launching a corporate sponsorship campaign for the Allin House restoration and participating in community and Chamber of Commerce events to increase membership and community engagement.”
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