For seven years it sat on cinder block at the side of Leslie, south of Wellington. It was placed there at the expense of developers, who agreed they would move it once more to a location of the town's choosing when the town got around to choosing..
The town never did.
$100K has been included annually in the town's budget,to be raised from tax levies to restore the building if a use could be found and a place could be identified.
It never was..
A donation of $8K was made by an anonymous donor who never volunteered to accept the building
or suggest a use or a location.
For all that time, the building was home to generations of wildlife who lived, bred, defecated and died and filled the building with gross and unimaginable filth..
The roof was torn off . The building was open to wind and rain and snow and birds that fly and creatures that creep and mould bearing spores that clothed the floors, walls and ceiling.
Log planks rotted steadily to the point the structure can no longer be moved in one piece. Neither can it be restored to authenticity because of foreign material needed to replace that which is no more..
A professional report provided free. indicated the building could no longer be moved in one piece. The unimaginable filth on interior walls, ceilings and floors would have to be scraped bare to determine the full extent of deterioration.
The advice was not accepted by the majority of Councillors. It was free.
An engineering consultant was retained at a fee of several thousand dollars to describe how the building might be moved and restored and at what cost.
Reduced from authenticity, to the size of a three-hole privy the engineer consultant reported an estimate of almost half a million dollars.And that it could not be moved in one piece.
Still the decision was left hanging..
The sad, forlorn, steadily deteriorating shack continued to sit, alone and unloved at the side of the road.
Stories were told the developer was committed to restoring the building when a location had been found.
A meeting established that to be a myth. The developer committed to a one shot additional payment of $50K and no more.
Yet another call went out for expressions of interest. A fellow from Keswick ,at the invitation of the Councllor who insisted on the engineering consultant's report,appeared at Council and declared for $120K he would restore the building.
More calls went out for expressions of interest.
Then we had an election.
Finally on Tuesday, on the Council Agenda along with a list of expressions of interest , was a long awaited recommendation the building should not be restored.
The decision would mean the 2011 budget with the big booby forecast increase could be reduced by $100K .
However, a delegation from Richmond Hill presented as "Friends of the Petch House" .The old clap-board , rotting . moldering, carpenter ant infested , defecation and carcase filled building was once again described as a fantasy inspired "one-of-a-kind log house" and a fervent appeal was made for three months deferral of the decision to allow "A Walk for History" to be held to raise money to "save" the precious artifact.
The fellow from Keswick who would restore it for $120K, was in attendance with the delegation.
A motion was passed at Council to defer the decision for three more months.
Absolutely un-freaking-believable!
ReplyDeleteWhat a colossal waste of time and effort.
If the "Friends of the Carpenter" want it, I say sell it to them for $1.00, as long as they take it away poste-haste.
Let's be rid of this Whitchurch-Stouffville relic!
sell it to them for a $1.00?
ReplyDeleteHeck, hand it over to them!
This is not even funny anymore.
ReplyDeleteDavid Herd was the one who was right with his suggestion.
Salvage only a few beams, and display a period room at The Cultural Center.
Bring our museum back to us.
I hope I got it the idea correct.If not my apologies David.
who will come forward next week as the saviors ,we can only hope it’s the big bad wolf , lord knows the pigs have lived in the place ,This has gone on far too long to the point where it looks like the air in the town hall is still tainted by the past regime, when is it likely they will open the windows and air the place out and start thinking rationally ,thank god for you and Paul !!!
ReplyDeleteIf they want it that much, maybe the town could give it to them if they were to agree to sponsoring the so-called jazz festival to the tune of $5K and get us taxpayers off the hook for paying it!
ReplyDeleteWas this decision a recorded vote?
ReplyDeleteCan you tell us who voted in favour and who opposed?
It appears there is no semblance of responsible leadership at the table.
Did we vote last October for more of the same?
It is starting to appear that way.
Oh get over it with the museum. We already have a museum. It's called Hillary House. How many do we really need? I've been there plenty of times. Sure some will nit pick and say that it is something different. I look at it and see a museum.
ReplyDeleteAs for other displays of town history, The cultural centre will be rotating that stuff though on a regular basis as well. I remember when the church street school was the museum. It also had other tenants too and no one ever went there. Now we have a centre which does so much more. Will actually attract people to it so that when displays are there, they will be seen!
I like our new cultural centre and will fight tooth and nail to keep it.
I have no intention of "getting over it".
ReplyDeleteThe fact of the matter is...
Money has been continually collected for a museum at the Church Street School.
There is record of funds coming into the Historical Society from the 1980s for a museum at that site.
I really don't think developers and others gave funds for "rotating displays".
This money was slated for a "museum" not a cultural center. The cultural center was a secondary factor idea decades later.
You can spin it whatever way you want.
Climate controlled rooms were established in the Church Street School for what?
Revolving displays.
I think not.
More importantly, how did the name "museum" just miraculously fall off the building.
I can tell you there are a lot of citizens in the town, that do not accept your explanation of Hillary House as a museum.
We will NEVER except that as the museum.
While were on the topic of history,lets add the Petch House to the conversation.
If it is now going to be a not-for-profit that will fund raise for its renovation, then so be it.
I sure as heck do not want to see the town funding this after the fact.
Who will care for it?
Who will pay the taxes on the land it sits on?
Town staff and the taxpayer should not be on the hook for this.It happens far too often that groups travel back to the well.
These economic times being as they are, we can do without multitudes of special interest groups.
If the Historical Society thought the Petch House was so important, why didn't they start the fundraiser?
So now we have another group on the historical front. People just cannot work together.
Then again, that's how special interests groups work I think.
More money comes from the well, the more people travel to it, and extract from it.
It is time to take the bucket away.
The well is dry.
That's wishful thinking on my part.
Hey..... I just tossed a penny in. There was no splash.
Listen to that Mayor Dawe and councilors.
It's the sound of saving money for roads, plowing, and infrastructure.
Do your jobs, and stop pandering to special interest groups.
We have seen enough of that throughout the country. Look where it's getting us....... budget increases.
Thanks.
Who the heck is anonymous and why does he or she have so much to say on this lame blog -- anonymous vs anonymous
ReplyDeleteanonymous