CENTRAL MANITOULIN—In a flurry of motions at their April 13 session, council endorsed the Friends of the Mindemoya Old School’s bids for funding from a number of sources.
First, council decreed that a letter of support be prepared by staff for application to the McLean Foundation. The McLean Foundation was established in 1945 by the late Mr. James Stanley (J.S.) McLean, president of Canada Packers, with an initial gift of $505,400. J.S. McLean made additional gifts from time to time until his death on September 1st, 1954. These gifts, augmented by a bequest under his will, totalled $1,301,000. The fund provides donations in relatively small amounts to a wide range of organizations and projects. Most recently, Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association received a $5,000 grant.
Council also authorized a letter of support to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport in FOMOS’ bid to $60,000 to fund accessibility related such as the installation of a barrier free lift, automatic door openers and renovations to the bathroom to make it barrier-free.
Finally, council authorized a letter of support be prepared by staff for FOMOS’ for their application to the Ontario Trillium Foundation Community Investments Capital stream in the amount of $150,000 to fund accessibility-related renovations such as installation of a barrier free lift, automatic door openers and renovations to the bathroom to make it barrier free.
A motion to allow FOMOS to replace the roof on the Mindemoya Old School, once engineering drawings were received and a building permit be obtained, generated considerable debate. Once council’s concerns that an engineering report and building permit were in place, the motion passed.
Council expressed concerns over plans to deal with the state of the roof on the Mindemoya Old School, endorsing the municipal building inspector’s concerns over allowing work on the roof without an engineer’s report on its safety. In response to a question from Councillor Brian Mitchell, the building inspector said he was not concerned with the idea of FOMOS tarping the roof in order to prevent leaks from causing further damage, provided the work can be accomplished safely.
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