Petch House was a rwin. The other was a chapel. Both were offered for sale by the developer and the chapel was bought.restored , sold and re-located to a property in cottage country.by Van Nostrand of Vandorf a craftsman of known competence.
Van Nostrand was brought in to advise on the house when it was still standing solid ,without a hole in the roof and could still have been moved in one piece to a new location. The estimate was a fraction of the eventual cost of restoration. The house was eventually in much worse condition.
When I returned to Council it had grown ever more forlorn and dilapidated , languishing at the side of the road for all to see.
My purpose was to provoke a decision one way or another. If anyone within a hundred miles was interested in receiving an original pioneer home, I meant them to hear it was theirs for the taking.
More years passed...funds dissipated ... still nothing accomplished.
A third new Council... fresh funds of $50,000 from the developer . .. and a location discovered.
The Petch family like many others had links in Aurora . The only real boundary was political. An initial donation of $18,000 had been made to encourage the municipality to save the house.
Political consequences were the only deterrent to changing my mind. I've never let that stop me before.
If there was value in the building in a dilapidated state, how much more would it be restored to original pristine condition.
If it attracted a buyer for more than was spent and was still preserved for posterity ,it wouldn't matter to me if ownership was public or private.
A family that cared enough to donate funds would be satisfied ,the preservation of heritage would be satisfied and something worthwhile accomplished.
We didn't do it just because we had the money to spend .
Give us credit for having the best intentions and finally finishing the job.
The most delicious part is now deciding how to use it.
Wednesday, 14 May 2014
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16 comments:
Has anyone in the town hall been directed to obtain a quotation for providing Petch with full wiring, water and heating/cooling so that it would become usable year round for some purpose?
As things stand at the moment there is a lot being written about a "delicious" shell but the expenditure of a million words will not bring the building to a completed state.
There have been several potential uses mentioned in the past week right here on your blog.
My concern is that council is going to direct the Director of Parks and Recreation to conduct a study into the more practical ones, report to council, whereupon there will be lengthy discussions/debates and then a motion to send it all back to staff for further study and yet another request from the Communications Department to solicit ideas from the public.
The net result is that Petch might stand vacant for another few years, while a new council fusses about looking for divine inspiration.
This crap has got to stop!!!
As long as Aurora taxpayers continue to send their hard earned dollars to town hall in ever increasing amounts nothing is going to change. The money is there and it needs to be spent. If overspending is encountered it is as simple as raising the tax rate.
What's a few bucks for an old log cabin when we can afford a 26M public works garage. Our deputy mayor is content to throw tens of thousands of dollars around like nickels. No, not his money - yours and mine.
@18:09
Hard to blame one individual for majority decisions but that is your right.
Shall we leave the Petch House in peace until we hear what, if any, suggestions were submitted to the town ? Evelyn had a batch of them in just a few days so her communications department works just fine. I think we should act to cauterize an old wound. And that is my right.
By the sound of things, many are opposed to spending tens of thousands of dollars on getting the Historical Society up and running. This has been the subject of a protracted council discussion and a recent decision. This should be reconsidered as no one has the faintest idea what the resulting expenditure will look like visually, in just one room at the Centre.
Possibly a part of those monies could be spent on Petch House and as you say: "finally finishing the job."
The Amber Alert has been cancelled - kids are safe.
19:13, how do you construe "many" from the few comments on this blog, especially considering that most may be repeated by a small group of commenters?
20:49
A few intelligent comments more than compensate for the noisy fear-mongerers and friends who splash their trash in the press.
20:49 – How do you construe “most” may be repeated by a small group of commenters??
18:09 – Your right!..But for some reason this council has this belief that they have to “improve our quality of life” because we the tax payer can’t do that for ourselves. But..the crazy thing is...even if the money wasn't there…they will continue to spend and justify every penny of debt that they create. The Region has done it…$2.4+ billion in debt and every last penny of it is justified by Regional Councillors, staff, consultants and auditors. It makes me sick.
21:30
Giving one's opinion on whether or not there might be a reason for getting Petch in usable sustainable shape under the auspices of an undemanding group of well-organized seniors is not at all in the same league as invading the council room demanding large amount of financing with no end in sight.
OK the Auroran now comes out Thursdays. There is another good cartoon - I do hope we don't hear charges of fear-mongering or subliminal paid political ads..........again
christopher
8:31 – I never said it was in the same league. I don’t think I even implied that it was in the same league. I think that the involvement of the senior center is a great idea. They are very well organized. They run great events…in fact the Town should actually take some pointers. As far as the invading of council room demanding all sorts of money is shameful. Those performances in council make some of those reality shows academy award winners.
This is Spring ?
22:48
I think they are all produced & staged by the same tiny core. It makes sense that over a # of years they have gotten better at the performances.
Our Nigel appears to have reconsidered his vow to be done with politics. He was snarling from his carry-case at the Mayor in the Auroran. Aside from getting most of his " facts " wrong, he is making a big mistake. There was a chance in 2010 for him to be elected a council member - no chance at all now.
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