At Port Hope’s Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, two motions were tabled on what the Municipality could do to assist the Canadian Fire Fighters Museum financially and with temporary storage.
In the first motion, defeated in a 4-3 vote, it was proposed that the Municipality of Port Hope would provide the Canadian Fire Fighters Museum, a $100,000 mortgage and a $150,000 Line of Credit for renovations to be repaid over two years if they are successful in purchasing the Canadian Tire building and site.
Both would carry a 3.1 percent interest rate.
It further proposed a community grant to a maximum of $25,000 subject to matching funds from the Canadian Fire Fighters Museum fundraising campaign, and tax-exempt status as provided under provincial legislation for registered charities.
A second motion, passed in a 5-2 vote, was that in the event the Museum is required to vacate the existing site by March 31, 2018, for a maximum two-year period, fire vehicles would be relocated to the storage building and two car garage at the Waste Water Treatment Plant, up to a maximum of 550 square metres, and materials requiring a climate controlled environment would be stored in the rooms in the north east corner of the basement of the Canton Municipal Office.
Unless Port Hope Council and the CFFM can reach a long-term commitment to keep the Museum in Port Hope, it’s future remains in question.
