Southern Ontario’s largest military museum is getting ready to celebrate its 16th anniversary with an open house next weekend, but concerns about the facility's future are playing in the background.

“I can’t tell you anything because I don’t know anything,” museum chairman Rick Shaver said. “The city’s been very closed-mouth with us.”

A lease agreement was to be signed with the city to keep the military museum in its current home on the Greenwich-Mohawk brownfield until a new facility was ready as part of brownfield redevelopment. But efforts to finalize the document have been fruitless.

Complicating the agreement is the fact that Terrasan, the development company that will take ownership of the 52-acre brownfield, needs to be included in the deal.

Complicating the agreement further is the fact that the city has yet to sign a development agreement with Terrasan to begin work on the brownfield remediation project.

Shaver is not too concerned about the museum's future, as he is sure city councillors recognize it as an asset, but he is getting frustrated with the process.

“I’m just about ready to throw in the towel,” he said. “It’s been a little nerve wracking.”

The museum has been operating without a formal lease agreement with the city since its inception.

A draft of a lease went to city council for approval in February, but it was turned down and a committee of council was struck to rework the deal.

Coun. Dan McCreary said the committee has made some progress, but recent suggestions that the city may dissolve any deal with Terrasan have him worried.

“We have a number of councillors who don’t think we’ve made adequate progress on this brownfield to ensure their re-election so they want to take on the project without the private sector,” McCreary said. “Turning this project into a political football puts the military museum at risk.”

At its last meeting before council took a break for the month of July, several councillors – including Marguerite Ceschi-Smith and Richard Carpenter – expressed a desire to get on with the Greenwich-Mohawk redevelopment with or without Terrasan.

After a closed-door meeting, councillors would only say they were waiting for a staff report on the subject.

Shaver has been following the Greenwich-Mohawk stories in the news and said he has his own concerns with Terrasan.

“I can’t get them to respond to me,” he said. “In the lease, they wanted to be partially in control. Right from the beginning, I haven’t been pleased with Terrasan.”

Shaver is looking forward to city council making some kind of decision on where to go with Terrasan’s proposal.

“That’s when I think we will find out a bit more about our future,” he said.

In the meantime, the Greenwich Street museum is hosting an open house on Aug. 1 to celebrate its 16th year in operation. The free event will feature displays, re-enactors, a barbecue and more.

“We take pride in our annual open house,” Shaver said. “(It’s) a great way to meet with the community and to give recognition to our past, present and future soldiers.”