MELDRUM BAY—There is certainly enough interest among members of the public to volunteer their time to help assist the Dawson Citizens Improvement Association (DCIA) in making the Mississagi Lighthouse operational again.
About 40 people, including 33 members of the public and members of the DCIA met in Meldrum Bay this past Saturday to see if there is public interest to volunteer towards making the lighthouse operational again. As had been reported previously, the DCIA, with the assistance of LAMBAC and Annette Clarke, Western Manitoulin Economic Development officer made an application to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to acquire a long-term lease for operations of the lighthouse.
“The Mississagi Lighthouse is a very important heritage site for Manitoulin Island, Western Manitoulin and Northern Ontario. It is a very popular tourism destination,” said Wendy Van Every, DCIA treasurer. “But if we don’t do this now it will be too late. And if we can operate this popular tourism site again it will be a benefit to western Manitoulin and the entire Island.”
“We own the general store (in Meldrum Bay) and during the summer we will get three or four customers a day saying that they drove out to see the lighthouse, and are very disappointed that it is not open,” said Debbie Reaume.
One man, who has recently moved to Manitoulin stated, “the lighthouse is something the Island should definitely get operating.”
Carolyn Campbell, executive director of LAMBAC who moderated the meeting said, “the lighthouse is important to the entire Island as a tourist destination. We brought this up at a meeting last week and everyone said how important it is to keep the lighthouse and the camping ground operational. And other people have indicated they would be interested in helping out.”
Ms. Campbell noted LAMBAC is “here to help. Today we will be looking for your (members of the public) interest in helping to get the lighthouse operational again. We need to move forward. I think it is all of our goal to access and enhance tourism and protect this natural heritage site.”
Ms. Van Every noted a decade ago DCIA was in negotiations with DFO about acquiring the lighthouse, all its buildings and the property but were unsuccessful. DCIA produced a business plan and “in the summer of 2022 we decided to start the process to try to lease the lighthouse. We toured the property and buildings and discussed with Annette (Clarke) making a request application to lease the lighthouse. She was able to get us in touch with DFO and who exactly we needed to make the application to.”
“Last summer, DFO indicated they were carrying out assessments on all lighthouse properties,” said Ms. Van Every. DCIA rewrote its business plan and is now trying to get a long-term lease with DFO. “We also realized we need a lot of people to be involved in the project to help and help in many ways to get the lighthouse operational.”
Thus far, DFO has not come forward with its findings on the lighthouse assessment, the meeting was told. Ms. Van Every said DFO has carried out some work in fixing up the lighthouse building but it needs additional work, while the washrooms are a write-off. She also noted, “We need a 10-year lease to enact our plan.” She said as part of the plan what has been proposed is to have the lighthouse and campground property opened. The camping fees and any donations received would then be used to apply for funding to carry out work on the lighthouse building and other outbuildings and the electrical and water systems along with the foghorn building.
“We would also need to spend money on marketing. If we promote that people can visit and can camp here, we know from inquiries there will be quite a few people that will visit,” said Ms. Van Every.
One idea that was raised by a resident was asking Lafarge for assistance in moving the lighthouse building into the Meldrum Bay community.
However, Anne Steele-Griffin of DCIA said, “Part of the draw of the lighthouse is the property around t. I think we would have interest in camping on the property regardless (of the lighthouse being located there) due to interest among members of the public.”
There were also concerns about the regulations that would be required to move the lighthouse, and that DFO wouldn’t allow the building to be moved regardless.
The lighthouse, “is a heritage building,” stated DCIA member Marcus White.
Meeting attendees asked what a sitting committee that is being sought by DCIA would be focusing on.
Jennifer Clarke, DCIA president, said the four main areas the working committee and volunteers would be focusing on include fundraising, marketing, customer service and maintenance upgrades to the buildings and property.
“The campsites would need to be cleaned and updated as part of this,” said Mr. White.
The existing sewage tanks for the lighthouse keeper building, foghorn building and others would need to be inspected.
“As for DCIA and what our group can offer, one thing we have is a lot of experience in volunteering and running projects,” said Ms. Van Every. “What we don’t have is money to provide for the project.”
Ms. Campbell brought forward the idea that as is the case in other communities with similar property and heritage buildings, a virtual reality kiosk could be installed outside the lighthouse that would provide the visitor a tour of the facility and the items in it without the building having to be staffed. This and all other ideas if the group moves forward on the project and a committee is formed and volunteers come forward to help, and brainstorm.
In the DCIA business plan, Ms. Van Every said the idea is to open the lighthouse and run camping sites. “We don’t expect we would get any (government) funding until year two or three.”
When asked if DCIA expects a positive response from DFO in the application for a long-term lease of the lighthouse. Ms. Van Every said, “They haven’t said no, we have not been written off.”
“Everything is very preliminary at this point,” said Ms. Campbell. “It all depends on DFO and if they approve the lease request. See how and if a committee is formed and get a structure in place and volunteers on hand to help out.”
“There has to be a lot of fundraising,” Ms. Clarke told the meeting. She along with two other DCIA members have indicated they would be willing to be members of the committee.
“If approval is issued for a long-term lease, is there any interest in a private sector sub-lease of the lighthouse and property?” asked Jim Martin. “While this idea has not been discussed previously, this is a great idea,” said Ms. Van Every.
Ms. Van Every noted that it is hoped that 15 campsites (of about 30 in total) would be opened the first year the lighthouse property is open again.
“We need a committee to be formed to help support the initiatives we have outlined, as well as the help of a lot of volunteers,” said Ms. Clarke. She pointed out for the sub-committee, Friends of Mississagi Lighthouse, “We are looking for 7-9 members.” She also said that the DCIA has a long list of volunteers who have agreed to help out.
Several DCIA members indicated their interest in being on the committee, and along with about five people in attendance indicated they would be willing to stand on the committee. As well, the DCIA received many requests by phone and online from people who are also interested in being a member of the committee which will carry out the vision for the project and report back to DCIA.
