After finding a Mountain View County property on which to build an animal shelter, the deal to purchase the property in the Didsbury area has been withdrawn by the seller, leaving the Wild Rose Humane Society scrambling to come up with Plan B.The society was informed by the seller's lawyer on Feb. 6 that the deal had been withdrawn, when the seller unexpectedly declined to sign the final documents. The society doesn't know why the offer to sell was rescinded.ìI'm in great shock. This kind of brings us back to square 1. We were in the middle of applying for a grant Ö and we were hoping for the grant of about $125,000 which would have put us well on our way to purchase this property, so now we have to go back to the drawing board,î said Purple Kumai, president of the society.Kumai said the society had built a strategic plan based on the purchase of the property, and now that the deal has fallen through, the society must come up with another plan. A strategy meeting on the next steps will be held on March 3.Glenda Hunsperger, the potential seller of the property, declined to give a reason for the withdrawal of the offer, when asked by the Gazette.ìThat is no business of anybody's but mine,î she said.Kumai said when Hunsperger initially approached the society at a September board meeting about offering her property, directors told her that she was more than welcome to come to board meetings, review the financials of the society and get involved with the society, but that didn't happen.Kumai said the society had planned to purchase the 20 acres by the end of the year. The society has been fundraising since 2007 for a shelter and seriously pursuing this particular option since September 2011.ìWe had a definitive plan, this is what we were doing to raise funds (towards the property),î she said.Kumai said the planning session on March 3 will involve talking to Olds College about a partnership between the two organizations, but that again was contingent on having a shelter in place in the county. Kumai said she is particularly frustrated because a lot of effort had been put into this particular goal and to then go back to some of the same groups with a different plan would be difficult to do.ìRealistically, budgets for different companies and groups Ö have already been decided (for this year),î she said.The society will be holding its annual general meeting in Didsbury council chambers at 7 p.m. on March 14. The public is welcome to attend.
