North Huron Council is moving forward with a proposal to establish museum services at the old train station property on Main Street Wingham.
CAO Dwayne Evans says the municipality is entering into a lease agreement with the property owners where a fundraising campaign will raise money to complete some capital project upgrades in the building.
Evans says the location of the property made it an intriguing location to council, as well as some other factors.
"The property owners have offered the building at essentially no cost. At the end of the time period of the lease agreement, the owners will be signing over and transferring over ownership of the building to the municipality, to continue the museum services there," explained Evans.
The lease agreement is in place until December 31st, 2040, at which point North Huron would assume full ownership of the property.
Evans notes a fundraising committee has been established to raise the funds to complete improvements, with the fundraising goal set at $420,000. Before work gets done, council will have a building condition assessment done to ensure the building is up to code and meets Ontario accessibility standards.
"There's currently a building on the property that's going to be relocated and attached to the train station building, so that is one of the significant capital improvements that has to occur. As well, there's some interior work that needs to be done, for example, the shelving, and the windows need to be upgraded to meet current standards."
