Council considers reviving historic area society

The Fort Macleod Historic Area Society will be revitalized.
Council decided July 22 to inject new energy into the organization that oversees the town’s provincial historic area.
At the July 22 meeting municipal manager David Connauton asked council for a decision on the historic area society.
Connauton informed council in a written report the Fort Macleod Historical Association no longer wants to oversee the historic area.
“They don’t want to have it under their umbrella,” said Coun. Trevor Curran, who represents council on the Fort Macleod Historical Association.
The Fort Macleod Historic Area Society was formed in 1981 and oversaw the revitalization of historic buildings through the provincial Main Street Program.
In recent years the historic area society was under the umbrella of the Fort Macleod Historical Association, which oversees the Fort Museum and 1884 North West Mounted Police Barracks provincial historic site.
Connauton told council the historic area society has fallen by the wayside in recent years, and the Fort Macleod Historical Association no longer wants the responsibility.
The historic area society no longer has active members. The annual report for the group was not filed in 2012.
Council was asked to decide whether it would disband the historic area society or revitalize it.
“Why don’t we advertise to get some interest?” Coun. Susan Koots suggested.
Koots said an active society could apply for a casino licence to raise money every two years.
The society could then allocate that money in grants to groups such as the Empress Theatre.
“I would like to see it activated,” Koots said. “Even if it’s under a different premise, why not get it going again?”
Council directed Connauton to bring a copy of the Fort Macleod Historic Area by-law to a future council meeting.
“We should consider what potential benefits there are,” Koots said.