The Sexsmith and District Museum Society and Town of Sexsmith will be working together to designate the Emmanuel Anglican Church as a Municipal Historic Resource.
Mayor Kate Potter says members of the society recently wrote council to gauge interest in the project, and she says it was a no brainer.
“The museum society owns that building and obviously it has some significance around town just as far as it’s been there for quite a while and lots of people have a connection there. So, the museum society approached the town and said they’d like to get the ball rolling on this and work with the town to make that happen.”
Built in 1936, the church is one of the main features in a growing museum and historical district within the town. Despite that, Potter says even with the full backing of the town council, many steps remain to get the designation through to the finish line.
“It starts with a little legal back and forth, there are a couple of processes you have to go through as far as public notice and that sort of stuff. It can be a lengthy endeavour, a couple of months at least to get everything finished, but we are moving ahead with that plan.”
If the designation is approved by the province, the museum society would be eligible for grants from the provincial government to help with the costs of restoration or renovation of the building.