Council debate on Barber Mill as heritage site at next meeting

The Barber Paper Mill will be the subject of a report on Monday's council meeting agenda. Planning director Bruce MacLean plans to present the report on the status of the heritage designation of the site, and request council direction on how to proceed. In 2004 the council approved a Heritage Halton Hills (HHH) recommendation to proceed with designation of the property. HHH council rep Councillor Moya Johnson said this was done at the request of the owner, but that the owner then requested it be put on hold. Earlier this year, concerned residents expressed concern over the deterioration of the site, and in April, Johnson asked MacLean to look into the situation. Johnson said at Monday's meeting council would have to decide whether to proceed with designation or accede to the owner's wish to hold. According to Heritage Halton Hills chairman John Mark Rowe once local designation is in place, provincial officials are interested in nominating this industrial site to the National Register of Historic Places. The Barber Paper Mill is a late 19th century industrial complex that housed a papermaking operation, instrumental in the development of Georgetown. The community was known for many generations as "Papertown". The Barber Paper Mill, in 1888, using a dynamo downstream, was reputedly the first industry in North America to use electricity transmitted over a distance. The Ontario Heritage Foundation recognized the site in 1977 with the placement of a historic plaque, but it has never been officially protected. The owner of the property proposes to develop the site to include a 14-storey condominium, four-storey hotel, and a commercial area that could include restaurant, art gallery, museum or even a private school.