Debbie Thompson presented the annual report and funding request for the Preston Historical Society (PHS) at the Preston, Minn., city council August 7 meeting.
The report was put together by Sheila Craig, president of PHS, and included numerous activities throughout the year. Most city council members are members of the historical society.
Some of the activities of the PHS are detailed below.
The PHS had received a $10,000 Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) grant. Total funds for the Master Plan project from grants and volunteer time equaled almost $25,000. Another grant request has been submitted to SMIF.
The PHS tractor ride is the society’s largest fundraiser. Eighty tractors and many riders participated in the ride in September 2022. The 10th annual two-day tractor ride heading to Lime Springs for lunch on the first day and to Rushford for lunch on the second day is being planned. The ride is headquartered at the Fillmore County fairgrounds.
The O’Hara School was open each day of the county fair. The sixteenth annual raffle was held with $1,000 in matching funds from F & M Community Bank. The collections committee collected several hundred additional artifacts and pictures (currently stored at the former Preston Dairy & Farm building).
Some of the new activity for 2023 includes Facebook posts on a weekly basis featuring pictures of the past. A sign, commemorating the Browning Club for securing Carnegie Funds for the Public Library in Preston, is almost complete. Additional interviews with 37 more residents are being conducted in cooperation with the library. Oral and printed versions will be available to borrow from the library. The interviews are being completed and transcribed through a Collaboration Grant with the library.
A $3,000 funding contribution to PHS was approved by the city council for 2023. Insurance costing roughly $2,000 is paid for by the city for the historic elevator, train equipment, O’Hara school, and Dairy & Farm building.
Other business in brief
•Eric and Justin Corson had applied for a Small Cities Development loan in the amount of $7,500 to replace the roof on the Pioneer Abstract building at 121 St. Paul Street SW. The EDA had reviewed the application and recommended approval. The total project cost is estimated to cost about $14,000. The application was unanimously approved. Small Cities Development loans are completely forgivable after five years.
•City Administrator Ryan Throckmorton explained the three-year contract with Preston Public Employees Association (PPEA) will expire at the end of this year. The PPEA has six members including full-time “outside” employees of the City and Utility. A committee including Throckmorton, Jim Bakken, and council members Charles Sparks and Steve Hall will negotiate a contract and bring it back to the city council for its consideration.
•The city council will meet next on August 21.
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