LONG SAULT, Ontario – The Lost Villages Museum, located in Ault Park in South Stormont, needs over $100,000 in repairs according to a report presented at the August 11th South Stormont council meeting.
The township is taking over maintenance of the historic park from the Lost Villages Historical Society under an agreement that is still to be finalized. The LVHS continues to handle the programming at the site.
“The site plan was brought forward to get a better handle on the outstanding issues at the Lost Villages,” director of Parks and Recreation Kevin Amelotte told council.
Council had already committed to completing some work with money set aside in its 2020 municipal budget. Those projects include rebuilding the blacksmith building on a concrete slab, and a new roof for the washroom facility.
In the report, completed by EVB Engineering, every structure in the Lost Villages needs work. The buildings requiring the most work are the Forbes Building ($18,500), the School House ($18,500), the Log Cabin ($11,750), and the Stuart Home ($9,500).
Amelotte said that there were some electrical issues in addition to the EVB report that still needed to be looked at, and that engineering was needed for the Stuart House that is separate from the initial report.
“The house was not designed for the number of people going through it,” he said.
According to the report, many of the repairs need to be done in the next year, with the remaining in the next one-to-three years.
Councillor Andrew Guindon asked if any money was available from the LVHS as in previous years the group had fundraised for maintenance work.
Amelotte replied that the group received the same report council had and indicated in the past that there are funds set aside for the school house roof.
“We are going to work with them on that,” he said. “They also committed to continue fundraising for helping maintain the structures even now that the township is handling maintenence. We have a good relationship with the Lost Villages.”
Council agreed to move forward with projects that can be completed this year.
This story was originally written for and published in the Morrisburg Leader.
