The Town of Renfrew is ready to make it official with the McDougall Mill Museum, as they agreed to put a proper working agreement with the Renfrew & District Historical & Museum Society in place in order to keep the landmark along the Bonnechere River in top form.
Museum Society spokesperson Debbie Hill attended the Tuesday, August 9th Council Meeting and explained that the town and the Society have worked together, but stayed largely separate since opening.
Hill and other members with the Museum Society for a presentation to council regarding some of the biggest needs for McDougall Mill to keep running.
Hill went on to explain why the annual $33,000 “budget” they get from the town as part of their current agreement doesn’t stretch far enough. She pointed to Arnprior’s museum, which is owned by the town and provided a much more substantial yearly money pool to work with.
Hill also suggested having a councilor on-board for their meetings to better include the town on the Museum’s day-to-day operation, which council agreed was a good idea.
(written by Kasey Egan)