Despite the disappointment of seeing the continued erosion of the roof this December, we have a number of positive news items to report!
First, and most importantly, after working with a lawyer over the past few weeks, an official offer to purchase has been submitted to the owner.
Because of the upcoming holidays, the owner has until January 10 to respond: he can accept our offer, make a counter-offer… or simply not respond. So, we will all be on tenterhooks to see what happens – but at least we’ve done what we can do to get an option to save the Mill. We will of course let you know as soon as we hear!
We’ve previously mentioned our “Friend of the Cause” Michael Rikley-Lanacaster, who is the curator of the Almonte Textile Museum. It’s housed in what was the Administration building of the Rosamond Woolen Mill – and Michael single-handedly brought it from a dreary state to being an amazing centre for local history and local textile artists. His mandate as curator is to support all efforts to preserve buildings that were part of the textile history of this area – and he’s been wonderful in offering us guidance about how to proceed with the Kitten Mill proposal.
On Tuesday night December 21 Michael made a presentation to Council in support of our committee, in support of saving the Mill, and he offered his help to Council in setting up a Heritage Committee. He did a wonderful job and Council members voiced clear support for saving the building.
Finally, as we await news on the offer, we’ve also been busy behind the scenes working on some additional activities for January, so while it might seem slightly quiet, rest assured we’re moving forward on multiple fronts, and as more news develops, we’ll be sure to let you know!
And so, as we all sit hoping for a Christmas miracle, the committee would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours the Best of the Holiday Season. We want to thank everyone for the continued support, and we truly hope that 2022 will be the year the Mill is saved!
