YORKTON - Yorkton Council took a step at its regular meeting Monday to loaning the Yorkton Brick Mill Society money to help it finish work the interpretive centre construction currently has under way.
Monday Council unanimously gave first reading support to a bylaw which would allow the city to lend money to the Mill Society for the Restoration of the Historic Site Designated As Municipal Heritage Property known as the Brick Mill and construction of The Interpretive Centre.
In accordance with The Cities Act, a Council may only lend money by way of passing a bylaw, and only if it is guaranteed that the money will be used for a purpose that will benefit the city, and that it is loaned to a non-profit organization.
The amount involved in the loan of a maximum of $240,000 dating back to a resolution of Council made in 2022. The motion passed at that time noted repayment is to be made to the City by the Society over five years.
The relationship of the Mill Society and the City is a long-standing one.
The property was deemed a Municipal Heritage Property in 1997 and the City took tax title in 2010, noted Ashley Stradeski, Director of Finance with the city at Monday’s meeting.
The Society was formed in early 2012 by individuals interested in encouraging the preservation of the oldest surviving brick flour mill in Saskatchewan, and in 2024 will celebrate 126 years in existence. Constructed in 1898 by John J. Smith to support the new settlement's agricultural base, 'The Old Mill' continues to be a monument to our pioneers and history, noted the material circulated.
In 2022, the Society acquired ownership of the Mill from the City for $1.
Stradeski said the mill fits the city’s Community Development Goal in the 2020 Strategic Plan identifies that the City of Yorkton’s objectives include that the city establish a vibrant culture that celebrates diversity, arts, customs, food, fashions, museums motion picture/film festival and heritage.
In addition the city’s Official Community Plan has many references to support for heritage preservation including the statement we are a socially sustainable community that fosters its unique history by reflecting the values and cultures of our residents by contributing to heritage preservation and cultural vibrancy, he said.
As part of the bylaw process it will now go to Public Notice.
