A plan by the B.C. government to reduce provincial funding for the Keremeos Grist Mill while seeking a proposal from a private operator for a commercial venture has set off alarm bells with the non-profit Grist Mill Foundation.

“We object,” said Dave Cursons, chair of the Grist Mill Foundation. “We believe that the government committed itself to this provincial historic site and has put public resources into it.”

The Grist Mill built in 1877 is an iconic historic site, the only functioning water-driven flour mill west of Ontario, said Cursons.

“It’s an important piece not just as an attraction for visitors, but it’s an important part of the heritage for people who settled this area,” Cursons said.

All seven directors of the foundation met last Thursday to discuss the government’s announcement of a Sept. 25 closure date for B.C. Heritage’s request for proposals.

The 4.94-hectare site includes 2.02 hectares of fields and gardens, the mill, a 19th century house and farm outbuildings, a modern visitor centre, parking, camping and tea room facilities.

The request for proposals would see the site leased to an operator to run the mill and lands to “reduce reliance on public funds.”

The foundation has decided to “reinvigorate” its support from stakeholders including the public as well as those in the wine and food industries that use the mill, said Cursons.

It is also seeking meetings with provincial and local politicians, including MLA Linda Larson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson and Premier Christy Clark, Cursons said.

“We want to be energetic, but we want to be civil,” he said. “We’re not saying the political people who have put this situation in our laps are evil or stupid. We just think they’re wrong.”

Cursons said the foundation is especially concerned that the government is trying to take this heritage site off its books, even though it represents a small cost to the province.

It will be up to a commercial operator to decide what they want to do with the land they lease, but operating a museum is not generally a choice for those seeking to make money, he pointed out.

“That is why the public operated museums,” said Cursons. “Because they see that there is value to the local regional community and there’s value in providing visitors with a sense of who we are.”

MLA Larson said she plans to meet with the foundation this week. She wants to reassure them that the government wants the Grist Mill to continue.

“Government doesn’t want to see it shut down,” Larson said. “We’ll do whatever we can to work something out where it can keep its doors open.”

Larson points out that the Grist Mill is already run by a private operator on an annual contract.

“There’s about 14 sites left in the province,” said Larson. “I’m sure from a cost-effective management perspective it probably makes sense from the government side to have them handled by people other than government because anytime government handles something it’s expensive.”

The government’s policy gives more control to local people, she said, adding that the Grist Mill Foundation could submit a proposal of its own.

“They have a great opportunity here,” said Larson. “All they have to do is what I’ve been telling them for more than a year is to put a plan on the table.

“There’s nothing to say that the province is just going to draw a line in the sand and say at this point onwards we’re done with you. If they’ve got a really good solid plan, where the province can see there is a good out along the road, there’s nothing to say they couldn’t still be getting some sort of a subsidy.”

Larson concedes that making money from a museum is difficult, but she said there are other opportunities at the Grist Mill.

“The Grist Mill has huge potential because there is land there that isn’t being used that could be used to create anything from a bed and breakfast to a campground or some other enhancement that would, I think, add to what revenues come from there… The Grist Mill has the opportunity because of all the activities it has there, a lot of them are moneymaking, so I would hope that as we move forward that something really good comes out of this.”

She also suggests the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) could fund the Grist Mill by adding it as a component to local tax bills.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times