Les A1nis Du ff-Baby do the Duff- Bab y Mansion /la Ma ison Duff- Baby 221 Mill Stree t, Windsor (Sandwich), Ontario N9C 2R1

September 4, 2018

• Dear Mayor Dilkens, Councillors Elliott and Gignac:
• RE: Review status of Access and Use Agreement (MS8 2011 and future use of the Duff-Baby Mansion)
• We request to meet with you in an attempt to discuss and review the status of the lease agreement to assist us in our Community goal to utilize the original Dining Room and Trading Hall for improved interpretation.
• The group Les Amis Duff-Baby established since the early 1990's is group of volunteers dedicated to providing information, tours and promotion of the Duff-Baby site and building. In the early 1990s we were the group that lobbied the Community, City Council, Heritage Committee and others to pressure the Ontario Heritage (Foundation) Trust to prepare a Master Plan for the use and development of the building and site and pushed for the conservation of the building to its earliest appearance ( 1800 vs. 1920) and in so the province spent instead of the original $350,000.00 budget well over $1 million on the stabilization and conservation to bring it to its original appearance.
• An Interpretation Building as well as an access agreement for the Mansion and Interpretation Centre was also prepared and put into place. This 4 year access agreement dated 1997 was between the Ontario Heritage Foundation and the Windsor Public Library Board. The governance of the Museum has changed to the City and the agreement has not been updated or amended and accordingly is stale. The agreement allowed use of the Interpretation Centre and provided opportunities for public access to the Duff-Baby House in accordance with the Trust lease agreement with the Ontario Management Board. (6 special event dates, weekend tour dates and 4 school tours (mostly with 30 days' notice). The current local MPPs have been supportive and assisted in the matter of having further/ additional access/use of this historic site and building.
• Since our founding we liave tried to acquire additional Community interpretation space within the ground floor, specifically the Dining Room and Trading Hall entrance. In its present use and state these areas offer very limited interpretation for the people, heritage, and important events that have occupied these spaces. More recently the OHT has worked to improve the use and access and a number of the former Provincial tenants have left the site allowing opportunities for further access. However, we understand the OHT is again pursuing other tenants as the discussion with the City ended.
• In support of this request, in February of 2011 the City of Windsor MSS-2011 (attached) approved a request for Adminis tration to negotiate in addition to the existing use agreement with the Ontario Heritage Trust additional Community use of the Dining Hall and Trading Hall. Although there has been: discussion, and costs determined museum staffing and for use of the interior space, meeting with OHT and municipal staff and preparation of a image