The fight continues to save a local grain terminal from demolition in Raymore, Sask.
Local business owner Terry Fazakas said he and others in the area are still hoping to convince the terminal’s owner, Cargill Canada, to sell the structure, rather than demolish it.
Raymore has a population of about 600. It is located about 100 kilometres north of Regina.
Cargill built a concrete grain terminal there in the mid-1980s but it has since decided that the elevator no longer fits into its plans.
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Storage capacity is listed at about 5,200 tonnes, roughly one-sixth the size of most modern concretes that have been recently constructed in Western Canada.
Fazakas said he and other residents think the building could be used to attract new businesses and strengthen the local economy.
Fazakas has already contacted Cargill with an offer to purchase the building.
He has also been in touch with Canadian National Railway, which owns the land on which the terminal sits.
Fazakas said the rally to save the structure is gaining momentum.
More local residents are getting involved and school students will be asked to share their views on why the structure is important to the town and why it should be saved.
“We’re going to get … the school involved in it,” he said.
“We’d like to know how they (students) feel about a big building like that getting torn down in their town.”
Raymore mayor Malcolm Koncz said the community has nothing to gain if Cargill follows through on plans to demolish the structure.
In addition to losing tax revenue, the town will also lose an asset that could be used to create new jobs and attract new residents.
In a recent email, company spokesperson Connie Tamoto said Cargill is reviewing its options.
“We have a few options we are reviewing, and … the proposal from Terry is one of them,” Tamoto wrote.
“These types of things take time and we want to ensure proper due course is followed throughout the process.”
Contact brian.cross@producer.com
