Leonard seeks grant to buy historic mill

The Village of Leonard is in the initial stages of trying to acquire the Leonard Mill from it’s current owner and transform it into a focal point along Polly Ann Trail.
Given the current condition of the building, located on East Elmwood St., it does not appear that a commercial business would be able to use the building, said Leonard Village Council President Mike McDonald.
‘The idea is not so much to restore the mill, but to preserve it and turn it into an economic development booster for the Village through its association with the Polly Ann Trail,? McDonald said.
The ultimate goal would be to create a community presence on the Polly Ann Trail that would serve as an attraction for tourism and as a destination for Polly Ann Trail users McDonald wrote in an e-mail to Addison Supervisor Bruce Pearson.
‘It’s a readily, identifiable landmark…it kind of puts Leonard on the map,? said McDonald.
The mill has been in the Village of Leonard for over 120 years. A fire consumed the original mill, the tallest part of today’s current structure, in the 1880’s. It was rebuilt in the early 1890’s and a two story addition was added around the turn of the century.
Since then, it served the counties needs until it closed it’s door’s in Jan. 1976.
In April 1976, the structure was renamed the Leonard Country Mill and reopened as a general store. It was owned and operated by Oxford residents Harry and Gail Julien.
In late 1994, the landmark was sold to Bruce Twp. resident Edward Knight, who operated it as a feed mill until 2005, when he sold it to Steve Bivens and Larry and Jerry Hoffman.
In 2005, a section of the roof on the north side of the mill caved in.
McDonald indicated that there are two separate phases to this project.
Phase one would be acquiring the mill and fixing it.
‘We would like to secure the premises and fix any priority repairs that may be needed to keep the structure intact as much as possible,? McDonald explained.
According to McDonald, the grain and mill works and original structure are still in tact. He noted that the grain and mill works were updated in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
The Village Engineer would have to determine if there are any sections or portions of the structure that needed to be removed.
The dilemma the Village Board faces is that if the mill stays the way it is, the current owner would not put any money into the building and he would tear it down.
‘Initially, we have to acquire the property and real estate before we can attempt to obtain funding and allocate funding for any further work on it,? McDonald further explained.
In order to purchase the property McDonald said that they would go after grants from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources trust fund, as well as other various grants that are associated with building preservation.
‘We’re applying for a trust fund grant, and the state guidelines will only loan up to 75 percent of the assessed value of the property being acquired,? said McDonald.
He added that the actual cash value of the property, based on the state equalized value, ranges anywhere from $16,000 to $23,000.
‘Right now, it appears we are going to seek and solicit donations in order to secure the funding for any match that might be required, regardless of the grant source,? he said.
If the village was successfully able to purchase the mill, phase two would kick in, where the Village would begin a search to find the proper partner for the building.
‘Our recreation plan now includes the opportunity for partnerships with private business,? McDonald stated. ‘So if there were a vendor or somebody that had a business or trail related activity, be it a bicycle repair or trail guide, that certainly would be a topic for future discussion.?
He added that since there was no well or septic system on the property, it does not lend itself to other uses, unless they were trail-related or seasonal.
Currently, the village does not have a purchase agreement in place nor has an official appraisal been conducted.
McDonald would ultimately like to see the mill go back to the original structure before the additions were made to the mill.
‘It is possible that those are not necessary and they don’t date back to the original structure, so those accessory add-ons could theoretically be removed as part of the project,? he said. ‘But that is for the future to determine and what the structural engineers find.?
According to McDonald, the Leonard Mill is the only remaining original mill structure on the Polly Ann Trail in Oakland County. He added that he has received a lot of support from other governing bodies about preserving or acquiring the mill.
‘We have gotten considerable support from the Oakland County Planning Commission, the Oakland County Trails Council and the Paint Creek Trail Council,? said.
Pearson said that he was also in support of the Village acquiring the mill.
‘We are very much for it if we can save the heritage,? he said.
At the annual Addison Twp. Board of Trustee’s meeting, the board voted unanimously on a resolution of support for purchasing the building.
McDonald indicated that he would like to make this a community project, just like Addison did with the Arnold School building.
‘We would like to make it a volunteer effort to get people to commit to coming out and helping us should we move forward with the project. We invite anyone to come out and take a look at Leonard and see what everyone was talking about.?
needed to keep the structure in tact as much as possible,? McDonald explained.
According to McDonald, the grain and mill works and original structure are still in tact. He noted that the grain and mill works were updated in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
The Village Engineer would have to determine if there are any sections or portions of the structure that needed to be removed.
The dilemma the Village Board faces is that if the mill stays the way it is, the current owner would not put any money into the building and he would tear it down.
‘Initially, we have to acquire the property and real estate before we can attempt to obtain funding and allocate funding for any further work on it,? McDonald further explained.
In order to purchase the property McDonald said that they would go after grants from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources trust fund, as well as other various grants that are associated with building preservation.
‘We’re applying for a trust fund grant, and the state guidelines will only loan up to 75 percent of the assessed value of the property being acquired,? said McDonald.
He added that the actual cash value of the property, based on the state equalized value, ranges anywhere from $16,000 to $23,000.
‘Right now, it appears we are going to seek and solicit donations in order to secure the funding for any match that might be required, regardless of the grant source,? he said.
If the village was successfully able to purchase the mill, phase two would kick in, where the Village would begin a search to find the proper suitor for the building.
‘Our recreation plan now includes the opportunity for partnerships with private business,? McDonald stated. ‘So if there were a vendor or somebody that had a business or trail related activity, be it a bicycle repair or trail guide, that certainly would be a topic for future discussion.?
He added that since there was no well or septic system on the property, it does not lend itself to other uses, unless they were trail-related or seasonal.
Currently, the Village does not have a purchase agreement or has had an official appraisal conducted.
McDonald would ultimately like to see the mill go back to the original structure before the additions were made to the mill.
‘It is possible that those are not necessary and they don’t date back to the original structure, so those accessory add-ons could theoretically be removed as part of the project,? he said. ‘But that is for the future to determine and what the structural engineers find.?
According to McDonald, the Leonard Mill is the only remaining original mill structure on the Polly Ann Trail in Oakland County. He added that he has received a lot of support from other governing bodies about preserving or acquiring the mill.
‘We have gotten considerable support from the Oakland County Planning Commission, the Oakland County Trails Council and the Paint Creek Trail Council,? said.
Pearson said that he was also in support of the Village acquiring the mill.
‘We are very much for it if we can save the heritage,? he said.
At the annual Addison Twp. Board of Trustee’s meeting, the board voted unanimously on a resolution of support for purchasing the building.
McDonald indicated that he would like to make this a community project, just like Addison did with the Arnold School building.
‘We would like to make it a volunteer effort to get people to commit to coming out and helping us should we move forward with the project. We invite anyone to come out and take a look at Leonard and see what everyone was talking about.?

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