by Betty Bardswich
MINDEMOYA—The Friends of the Mindemoya Old School (FOMOS), a group dedicated to the preservation and repurposing of the quintessential building in Mindemoya held their annual general meeting June 12.
The board of directors for this organization includes President Jan McQuay, a haweater and environmentalist and conservationist, Vice-President Lynn Quesenel, a former teacher who attended the Old School and Treasurer Allison McAllister, a fourth-generation Haweater. The Board is rounded out by Directors at Large Christianna Jones, the Health and Wellness Manager at Noojmowin Teg Health and Wellness Centre in Aundeck Ommi Kaning, Aaron Quesnel with a background in environmental policy, Marlene Brynildsen who holds a diploma in International Design from the International Academia of Design and Technology, and Christine McNaughton who taught English as a Second Language (ESL) for many years.
The meeting started with remarks by Ms. McQuay.
“We acknowledge,” she said, “that the Friends of Mindemoya Old School organization operate on the lands of Mnidoo Mnising (Manitoulin Island) which is the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy, the Odawa, Ojibwe and Pottawatomi people who are our friends and neighbours. We strive to live and work in the spirit of truth and reconciliation in harmony and cooperation with the First Nation peoples that have been the stewards and care takers of the land since time immemorial.”
Ms. McQuay went on to say that FOMOS have raised $190,000 so far with an outstanding donation of $100,000 from the Smith Family that was used to install an eco-roof on the iconic building. The team also used $35,000 to remove old insulation for which a report will be available in ten days to a week and, as Ms. McQuay was told, there is only minor work left to be done in the attic.
She commented that the Municipality of Central Manitoulin Council has given the group a two-year extension, but getting government funding is a challenge. As she explained, there are few grants for eco-friendly buildings which both council and FOMOS want the school to be, and other grant proposals are being denied, including one from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. This has led to a balky situation as the team cannot receive funding if they don’t have a track record and they can’t establish such a performance history without the assets to do so.
Ms. McQuay outlined some steps that members will be taking to retrofit the school to establish a green building, including adding heat pumps, new insulation and triple-glazed windows. “We can then highlight our retro fit,” she said, “so others can see how it is done, and potential funders can go on our website to see what we are pitching to them.”
The meeting continued with remarks from Ms. McAllister on financial matters including that FOMOS has two accounts with one being for checking and another for gaming that would be for such activities as an online auction that was held, an art auction that is ongoing, the sale of 50/50 tickets, mugs, pins, a book outlining the history of the school and ongoing membership fees and donations, for which charitable donation receipts are given as well as a thank-you card written by Ms. Quesnel and erin-blythe reddie. Donations can be made through the Architectural Conservancy Ontario, that through education and advocacy, encourages the conservation and reuse of structures, districts, and landscapes of architectural, historic and cultural significance, to inspire and benefit Ontarians. The tickets can be obtained with e-transfers to mindemoyaschool@gmail.com and the online art auction will start soon with donations of 13 pieces already obtained. The deadline for new artwork is July 1. Bidding will start on July 10 with the winners announced in August. The members will also have a yard/trunk and bake sale to be held at the Lion’s pavilion in Mindemoya. Ms. McAllister also talked of building costs that are quite high including the cost of the new insulation and the fact that humidifiers are running to prevent further degradation of the school. She also noted that the municipality has no responsibility for the school.
The final item on the agenda was the election of board members Ms. McQuay, Ms. Quesnel and Ms. McAllister who had three-year terms, and all were reelected. The FOMOS members then brain-stormed on ways to raise the funds needed to repurpose the iconic edifice.
