The April 21 fire at Brent乌鸦传媒檚 Grist Mill may have destroyed an unoccupied building, but the damage leaves a blemish on Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 history.
That乌鸦传媒檚 according to the president of the Central Okanagan Heritage Society Donald Knox.
He said the building damaged by the fire was built around 1871 during a recession, which means there aren乌鸦传媒檛 many buildings around the city that can also stand in as an example from that time.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 really well-constructed. The site is also the oldest grist mill in British Columbia, even older than the Keremeos mill,乌鸦传媒� Knox said.
乌鸦传媒淎nd, it was the first commercial building in operation in Kelowna, so the first business.乌鸦传媒�
According to Knox, Kelowna doesn乌鸦传媒檛 have as many heritage buildings as Vernon and Penticton, which is why the society wants to protect the little we have.
He did say the building itself can be rebuilt, but they have to follow the federal government乌鸦传媒檚 guidelines on how to preserve heritage buildings.
乌鸦传媒淭he experts we乌鸦传媒檙e working with assured us there is still material (from the original building) that we can save.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淭he federal government乌鸦传媒檚 guideline is to retain as much of that material as possible. So whatever we have should really be maintained.乌鸦传媒�
But, because the site is city-owned, he said the society itself can乌鸦传媒檛 do much, unless directed.
乌鸦传媒淭hey have the say on what to do with the material and how to go about reconstructing it. But we need to be able to sit down with them and work together on this, but that hasn乌鸦传媒檛 happened yet.乌鸦传媒�
Knox said they have already reached out to the City of Kelowna to set up a meeting, but because of the current circumstances due to COVID-19, they have yet to have the meeting.
The City of Kelowna has been reached for comment.
Kelowna RCMP said the fire is suspicious. The incident is still under investigation.
READ: Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 historic grist mill goes up in flames overnight
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