Alexis Tapp, a board member of the Wylie Historical Society, asked the City Council on Oct. 28 to clarify the city's expectations and speed a path toward ownership of the Stonehaven house so the society can seek grants and complete renovations.

"The missing piece has always been our lack of ownership of Stonehaven, not even a lease," Tapp said during the public‑comment portion of the meeting. She told council members the group has prepared grant materials but cannot compete for many restoration grants without clear ownership or a lease.

Tapp said the historical society has legal responsibilities set out in two ordinances and described a recent city email that listed a long set of expectations and asked the society to respond by Oct. 31. She called that timeline "not reasonable" given the house's lengthy history of delay and the scale of renovation needed.

"We are not nor have we ever been the problem," Tapp said. "The society desires to see the project through, but honestly, I fear we will face more red tape, stallings, conflicts."

What she asked for: Tapp asked the city to explain how quickly it can acquire any needed land, when the house could be relocated if that is the plan, and whether the society would have a clear path to ownership once relocation and renovation are complete. She repeated that the society believes ownership is essential to access renovation grants and to make the project viable.

Context: Tapp referenced two city ordinances (cited in her comments as "2015‑11" and "2017‑4") that she said describe responsibilities of the Wylie Historical Society related to the Stone family house. She said the society previously provided floor plans, professional budgets and design proposals to the city, and that volunteers had been working on grant lists and fundraising ideas while city ownership and relocation plans stalled.

Council response: Council took no formal action during public comment. The item later was not listed for separate council decision; councilmembers did not adopt a timetable on the record during the meeting. Tapp encouraged the city to contact the society directly to move toward a solution.

Provenance

- Topic intro excerpt: Alexis Tapp introduced herself as a Wylie Historical Society board member and referenced ordinance "20 15 11" and "20 17 4" while asking for clarity on ownership and timeline (transcript around 4174.725–4256.125).
- Topic finish excerpt: Tapp closed by stressing the society's willingness to continue work but requesting a clear path to ownership to pursue grants (transcript around 4587.34–4624.39).

Speakers

- Alexis Tapp, board member, Wylie Historical Society (spoke during citizens participation)

Authorities

- ordinance: "Ordinance 2015‑11" — referenced by Alexis Tapp as outlining Wylie Historical Society responsibilities (referenced_by: ["stonehaven-public-comment-2025-10-28"])
- ordinance: "Ordinance 2017‑4" — referenced by Alexis Tapp (referenced_by: ["stonehaven-public-comment-2025-10-28"])

Clarifying details

- Tapp said the society received an email from city staff on Oct. 21 listing expectations and an Oct. 31 deadline to respond; she called 10 days unreasonable given the project's decade‑long history.
- Tapp said the society previously provided three professional proposals, floor plans and designs to the city and had begun a grant list to seek funds for renovation.
- Tapp said the society does not own the house and has not been granted a lease or deed; she urged the city to make ownership or transfer arrangements to allow grant eligibility.

Community relevance

- Geographies: downtown historic district of Wylie and the Stonehaven property location.
- Impact groups: volunteers and local preservation advocates, grant funders, residents interested in historic preservation.

Meeting context

- Engagement level: substantial public comment on a long‑running local preservation issue; one speaker took the full allotted public‑comment time to detail the society's concerns.
- Implementation risk: medium — society argued renovation funding depends on clear property ownership and that timeline constraints could preclude competitive grants.

Searchable tags: ["Stonehaven","Wylie Historical Society","historic preservation","ordinance 2015-11","ordinance 2017-4"]