Published January 18, 2024

BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1510 West

Pointe Claire council is set to move forward with a plan that aims to see the iconic centuries-old stone windmill along its lakefront restored. But it is still not clear when work will begin.

On Tuesday evening, council was expected to approve the adoption of a bylaw to create a financial assistance program that would fund the restoration of the windmill, which dates back to the early 1700s. The bylaw was proposed in December and was slated to be adopted with modifications yesterday after The 1510 West went to print.

The move would allow for the Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal, which owns the windmill, to apply for a grant from the city of up to $967,761. The grant would be subject to a number of conditions, including that the archdiocese secures a matching grant from the provincial government to carry out the needed renovation work to ensure that the historic stone structure be restored.

According to councillor Brent Cowan, a member of a committee that hammered out the framework for the new grant program to fund the windmill restoration, the proposal agreed to would see only work on the exterior of the windmill carried out – including repairing the roof, stonework and replacement of the blades. Replacing the inner mechanism of the windmill that would enable the mill to be returned to working condition is not included.

In addition, the archdiocese would not have to commit to allowing public access to the site, an issue that previously had brought up concerns about liability and insurance requirements. The church, however, would be prohibited from building a fence around the structure, Cowan said.

In an interview Monday, Cowan said he was not aware of the modifications that would be included in the final version of the bylaw set for adoption yesterday, explaining that they were determined during the last round of discussions between Pointe Claire’s director-general and the archdiocese’s representative on Monday morning.

Although council in the fall of 2022 approved a preliminary plan that pledge public funds to finance the restoration, a needed step to allow the archdiocese to move forward with an application to secure a provincial grant to cover half of the cost of the restoration work, Cowan said church officials have not yet submitted a request for funding with Quebec. With that step still expected, it is predicted that the delays for approval of provincial funding could take up to 18 months, which will delay the start of any work.

In an interview last weekend, Pointe Claire Mayor Tim Thomas criticized the proposed deal.

“We’re years off with this arrangement,” Thomas said.

The mayor is frustrated that council refused to ratify a deal he had negotiated along with the city’s former director-general and the archdiocese in the fall of 2022 that would have included restoring not only the exterior of the windmill but its inner workings.

“We are going to get less for our money,” he said, adding that the delay also pushes the project further back without a clear start date.

“It’s all so that I won’t get a windmill agreement during my mandate,” Thomas said.

Built in 1710, the windmill is Pointe Claire’s civic symbol, gracing everything from the city’s water tower to its municipal website and banners. It was classified as a heritage site by the provincial government in 1983 and is one of a handful of Quebec windmills built under the French regime that still exist. 

Cutline:

Neglected for years, the blades of the windmill on the shores of Lake St. Louis in Pointe Claire has been damaged by storms, while its roof and stonework are in need of repair.

Credit:

The 1510 West file photo

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