Old mill gets short reprieve

The fate of the old flour mill in Yorkton is now in the hands of a local committee trying to save the city landmark, at least for a few months.

The matter of the old mill was reviewed in-camera by City Council at its Oct. 31 meeting, and City Administration met with the committee wanting to preserve the building in early November, detailed a report circulated to the regular meeting of Council Monday.

"The recommendation from the report prepared by C.A. Reed & Associates (Sask.) Ltd., was to preserve artifacts from the building in some form or another and demolish the building. This report was forwarded to the committee for review," stated the report.

"The committee identified during the meeting the need for time to have a heritage engineer conduct an assessment of the building. Funding for this assessment was identified as coming from provincial or federal heritage grants but authorization in the form of a letter would be required from the city as the landowner. Any applications for grant programs will have to be made next year because deadlines have passed."

Gord Shaw, Director of Planning & Engineering with the City told Council the committee has a different vision from the City's engineering consultant.

"The committee's vision is to convert the ground floor to a public assembly area. This vision was reviewed with Building Services staff. They identified that this conversion would have to meet the National Building Code requirements but the basement, second and third floors could be maintained in their original condition provided that health issues were addressed, no access is permitted and the building's internal and external structure is reinforced," he said.

"The committee identified that it would require between one to two years to review the structure and organize fund raising efforts. The window for making applications to funding agencies is pretty much over."

Shaw said there were reasons to give the committee a chance to save the mill.

"The mill site is recognized in the Downtown & West Broadway Corridor Redevelopment Plan prepared by the city in 2005," he said.

"The architecture is identified as being not found elsewhere in Western Canada. It is recognized as being the oldest brick mill still standing in Saskatchewan and as a symbol of vital importance to the agricultural industry," supported the report.

"The Municipal Development Plan also recognizes the need to conserve, revitalize or celebrate the rich and varied history Yorkton has experienced," added Shaw. He said part of the policy "the City shall "Give due consideration to the historic significance of older structures and sites to determine the requirement for public or private action for the conservation thereof."

"The mill has played a significant role in the history of Yorkton. Its role, however, can be represented in many different ways and not necessarily through the preservation of the building itself There is a continuum of ways in which to represent historic sites. The key is selecting which one can best be done given resources available for both capital and operating expenses."

Time is also not a huge factor in terms of the mill.

"The building is not in imminent danger of falling down. Yes there are severe structural issues that need addressing in the near future to maintain the building's fabric and prevent further deterioration, most notably the roof. The building will likely remain standing for several more years before the structural elements fail," said Shaw.

City Administration offered three possible options to Council, but added they recommended the option which will "allow the committee the opportunity to conduct their research and prepare a plan that identifies a self-sustaining historical facility can be established on this site that does not require funding from the City."

"Given that funding application deadlines have now expired for this year, the committee will require a window of opportunity to make the applications, receive notification and conduct their research."

Shaw added no funding will be available from the city for either capital improvements or operational requirements of this facility now or in the future.

At the same time Shaw said Administration knows it will take a lot of work and money to save the mill.

"Selecting this option certainly does not change the opinion that the building requires significant remediation to maintain its integrity. This selection is in keeping with the policy from the Municipal Development Plan in giving the opportunity to the group to conduct its research on private actions to preserve the building," he said.

"The ultimate option may be the demolishing of the building itself and preservation of the machinery elsewhere in Yorkton. The committee, however, should be given the opportunity to do their research and to come up with a funding model that is self-sustaining."

The committee identified the success from other Saskatchewan sites. Such sites include the Claybank Brick Plant, Motherwell Homestead National Historic Site, the Humboldt water tower or the flour mill in Esterhazy. All of these sites were in a state of deterioration until there was an initiative to seek heritage status and establish a society for fund raising, detailed the circulated report.

Shaw said if Council approved the recommendation then the following questions need to be addressed in the report to Council:

What is the best option to represent the historic significance of the Old Flour Mill?

What is the full costing of the recommended option?

What will be the financial impact from the Committee's recommended option?

Where will funding come from for any operating or future capital budgets for the recommended option?

Councillor Les Arnelien said he was willing to give the committee 18-months.

"I will support this," he said, adding his reason was a simple one "there is a committee that is very determined to save this project."

Coun. Larry Pearen agreed, saying a recent trip to Europe showed how heritage buildings can be maintained.

"I think it's important to preserve our past," he said.

Coun. Ross Fisher had concerns about funding. In spite of the report circulated to Council detailing no City money would be available for preservation, or future operations he worried costs "would fall back on us."

Coun. Bob Maloney picked up on the same theme.

"At the end of the day the City would be on the hook for ongoing operations over there," he said.

Fisher said he was in favour of making the hard decision now.

"I'd just as soon bite the bullet and deal with it," he said.

Coun. Chris Wyatt agreed "this has gone on a long time," in terms of the fate of the old mill, and he too wanted a quicker resolution than the proposed 18-months.

Coun. Richard Okrainec said he also had a concern with the 18-month time frame.

While the Administration report suggested it would likely take close to a year to even be notified of funding, Maloney too suggested "eighteen months is too far out for me."

In the end Council amended the initial motion, calling for the committee to report back to Council by Oct. 15, 2012, ahead of next year's civic election. The motion passed as amended, with Pearen opposed.