LEONARD VILLAGE – Efforts to preserve and restore the historic mill/grain elevator adjacent to the Polly Ann Trail got a big boost recently.

A $10,000 donation check from the Cooper Standard Foundation arrived via FedEx.

“It was a very welcome surprise,” said Leonard Village President Mike McDonald.

An application for the funds was submitted last year and McDonald was “cautiously optimistic” about it, but as he said, “Until it’s in your hot little hands, you don’t know if you’ve got it or not.”

Established in April 2013, the Cooper Standard Foundation’s mission is to strengthen the communities in which Cooper Standard employees work and live. The foundation has provided $8 million to more than 100 organizations across 16 countries.

A unique element of the foundation is its employee engagement aspect. Whenever four or more Cooper Standard employees gather to raise money or do volunteer work for a charity, the foundation matches their efforts with a financial contribution.

That’s what happened in Leonard.

Cooper Standard, a Novi-based global supplier of systems and automotive components for the auto industry, has a 28,000-square-foot plant in Leonard, located at 180 E. Elmwood St. next door to the mill. Approximately 70 employees work there.

McDonald said Cooper Standard employees have previously supported the mill project by rolling up their sleeves and volunteering during those “work days” when community members pitch in to clean up and spruce up the historic site.

David Moran, manager of the Leonard plant, said about 10 to 15 Cooper Standard employees have participated in four of these work days.

“We look at (our) relationship with the village and the (Polly Ann) trail council as very unique. It’s certainly of value to us,” he said. “We’ve had a great relationship throughout the years and want to maintain that.”

Moran believes donating to the mill project “falls right in line” with the Cooper Standard Foundation’s mission.

“We believe in the community and support the community and want to see it grow and prosper,” he said. “We think this is one of the keys to doing so.”

“I can’t say enough about the enthusiasm that the employees and the management there have shown over the years for the mill,” McDonald said. “They as much as the village, I think, want to see it improved because they are the next door neighbor. It’s really great to have them on board and supporting the community through this effort.”

The $10,000 contribution will be put toward getting the mill’s stone foundation “up to snuff,” according to McDonald.

“That’s our priority at this time,” he said.

“It’s safe, but it has deteriorated in some areas,” McDonald explained. Portions of the foundation had to be shored up after they had weakened and collapsed.

To fix the foundation and restore it in a way that maintains the historic integrity of the building will cost between $30,000 and $40,000, according to McDonald.

The money from the Cooper Standard Foundation combined with a previous $5,000 donation from ITC puts Leonard almost halfway to its goal.

“We’re working, as we have been, with the county, trying to find funding sources,” McDonald said.

Constructed in the late 1800s, Leonard’s mill/grain elevator ceased operations in 2004.

A combination of time, the elements and neglect took quite a toll on the building, both inside and out.

“The mill had languished for a lot of years,” McDonald said.

Community efforts to save the mill began in 2010.

The village purchased the 0.28-acre mill site – located at E. Elmwood and Division streets – in May 2014. A mix of municipal funds and grant money from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund was used.

In 2015, the mill was topped with a new corrugated metal roof to help protect it from further decay.

“That was our first project because if we didn’t save the roof, then there wouldn’t be anything left to save,” McDonald said.

The roof was paid for using an $8,000 grant from the Almont-based Four County Community Foundation and a $1,000 personal donation from Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson,

Fund-raising efforts to pay for the mill’s restoration are ongoing. Because of Leonard’s very limited budget, the project relies entirely on grants, donations and volunteer elbow grease to keep moving forward.

The plan is to someday transform the site into the Leonard Mill Park, complete with restroom facilities, bicycle racks and fix-it-stations, picnic area, benches, landscaping, drinking fountains and a display to educate visitors about local history.

It’s hoped that restoring the mill and creating the park will become an economic generator for Leonard and the surrounding area by drawing people via the Polly Ann Trail.

Used by walkers, runners, hikers, bicyclists, nature-lovers and horseback riders, the 16.9-mile trail runs through Addison, Oxford and Orion townships as well as the villages of Leonard and Oxford.

“We understand what the end goal is here with the mill and that it will benefit numerous communities along the Polly Ann Trail,” Moran said. “We think that’s a great thing.”