Thursday 24 October 2013
A Reversal Of Fortunate Circumstance
Christopher Watts has left a new comment on your post "A Council Divided is A Contradiction In Terms":
"A house divided cannot stand."
Actually the abomination that is Petch House 2.0 proves this statement to be false.
The Petch House couldn't be more divided, yet it stands. Unwittingly ts location and reconstruction was approved before arriving at a purpose. The result is an inside out house, with no plumbing or electrical located in a restrictive location at a cost more than double of what was received by the developer.
I think it is a testament to what this council can and has accomplished to date.
It is laughable to know the Town is not just entertaining the notion of a $10 Million heritage Disneyland but that they are spending $25,000 to do a feasibility study.
Is it feasible for Aurora to construct 3 more Petch Houses. You better believe it.
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Thank you for your comment Chris
Actually your statement that Petch House 2 is an abomination proves nothing of the kind.
There was nothing unwitting about its location and reconstruction.
D'you think for one minute I was not fully aware of political reaction to my change of mind that the
structure was an asset ,not a liability.
Fat chance of that.
Since 2003, before my return to Council, the town has had $100,000 in the budget for restoration of the Petch House. Every year I argued for its removal. I was not successful. The majority decided otherwise.
Smart Centre Developers were compelled to retain the structure as per the subdivision agreement.
legislated by Town Bylaw.
Do as we say or hell will freeze over before a permit is issued for your project to proceed.
The house was one of identical twins. The second was a chapel to serve the needs of the Petch
Family.
The chapel was purchased by Van Nostrand of Vandorf, craftsman of renown in restoration of vintage structures.
Restored years since, it occupies pride of place on a site in cottage country.
The portfolio presented to Council featured the impressive twin.
The master craftsman was known to a staff member. His opinion sough, given freely, of the potential of the building.
At the time it had been but a short time languishing by the roadside on Leslie Street .
The developer was committed to moving the building again to a location of the town's direction.
How much else was committed became lost in the mist of antiquity.
It matters not. The Town never came up with a site or anyone with a use for the building.
Van Nostrand's advice was ignored.
$800.000 of the budget was expended on an engineer's report at the direction of Councillor MacEachern who had free rein by approval of the Former.
The engineer's advice indicated a cost of $440.000 to restore the building.
The account of the developer's commitment had grown significantly to foundation ,installation of water sewers and wiring and of course driveway construction.
That plan never flew. In excess of $800,000 of the budget was spent with nothing whatsoever to show for it.
When I came back on Council, I was informed of an anonymous donation of $!8,000 from a person anxious for the house to be saved.
Speculation was it came from an ancestor of the Petch family.
Several Treasurer's have come and gone. reserve funds have been reviewed and identified. At the preset time no-one in the administration has any knowledge of the funds or where they were stashed.
At length a meeting between the Town solicitor and the developer was necessary for some other purpose. I requested the solicitor be directed to obtain a clear commitment from the developer on what he was willing to contribute to the Petch House project whatever that might be.
So, there was the balance of the budget Council had steadfastly refused to surrender;
There was $50,000 developer funds which would be forfeit if not used for the purpose.
There was a donation made for the specific purpose of saving the house.
I was informed of an available site.
Van Nostrand's reported the building could no longer be moved in one piece but it was still salvageable.
An authentic facsimile could be restored located through the arched entry to the Arboretum,
off John West Way and part of the Town Hall , the Senior's Clubhouse. within the Arboretum and within budget
I had a dilemma .
It gave me pause.
But not for long..
What was the worst that could happen?
The downside was political.
The upside , a house of significant age would be preserved with substantial support from donated funds.
It would be an asset in the town's inventory.
It would be placed on a concrete pad. It could be moved .easily. Or even sold.
I decided. the risk was worth taking.
The old structure was scraped clean by parks department men in masks and coveralls.
The structure was left open to wind and sunshine to dry out.
Under supervision of the craftsman building was taken apart ,piece by piece and it trundled down the road and round the corner to a yard in the Village of Vandorf,
During the winter months ,vintage lumber as sussed for patching and replacement.
In Spring authentic design windows were manufactured in London Ontario. .
Authentic clapboard was salvaged from a protected area beneath the eaves was used to mill to exact dimension to clad the house completely.
There are no separated rooms or second floor within the house. No divisions.
It doesn't pretend to be the original Petch house. But it is a bloody fine facsimile and a tribute to a pioneer family.
Three Councils wrestled to do the right thing.
Councillor Evalina Mac Eachern did most to find a solution.
It didn't happen on her watch but that's how it often is in politics.
The house is there, pretty as a picture.
It is wired for electricity.
It's use will determine need for toilet facilities. They are close at hand in the Senior's Club House.
Nothing limits its potential but our own imagination.
I make no apologies for the final decision made by this Council .
And if $25,000 of taxpayers money is being spent on a business plan for real estate deal masquerading as an airy-fairy Dsneyland Heritage Boondoggle on Yonge Street, Council knows nothing-about it.
I heard the rumour .I asked.
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10 comments:
Good Morning, Vietnam !
( always wanted to say that }
Keep up the good work.
It is still a waste of money and time. If that is what this council can hang their hat on as the success, it's very disappointing.
9:39
It trumps law-suits & chicanes.
What was reconstructed does not look to me to be an "authentic" facsimile of the Petch House from
the historic photos I have seen, one of which is one posted on my blog here:
http://wattstrending.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/auroras-inside-out-house/
It does look like a facsimile of a backyard shed made with materials found at your local Home Depot.
When you mulled over what was the worst that could happen, I agree the option to spend over $400,000
would be exactly that. What happened comes in a close second.
With respect to cost, if $58,000 was received through developer and donation the remainder (over half) was fronted by the town what is the expected R.O.I? And who exactly is clamoring to use it? Or buy it?
"Nothing limits its potential but our own imagination."
Well, that and perhaps physics. Its current location limits its use severely.
As you confirmed there is no plumbing, no heat and no second floor. Clr. Thompson injected practical concerns and staff spoke to building and occupancy code concerns during Tuesday's debate which starts at 166.00 on the Rogers tape: http://www.rogerstv.com/page.aspx?lid=237&rid=69&gid=119188
Your dilemma aside, I think council's decision to proceed with reconstructing the Petch House without first arriving upon its use goes against sound planning principles and I hope that it is not repeated in the future.
As for the fanciful Heritage DisneyLand concept, my comment was the $25,000 council has agreed to
spend on a "feasibility study" not a "business plan".
9:51
Really? they have you drinking the KoolAid then.
11:34
Nope. And I am quite aware of the penchant of 3 councillors to play the legal card. Currently they are skating very near the edges with the owner of that property with the the 3 trees, and we narrowly escaped a mess over the pole in King.
12:39
So the relocation and restoration of a clapboard building that was condemned is the highlight of the successes of this council 3/4 of the way through their mandate?
Holy s**t. The bar is low.
"And I am quite aware of the penchant of 3 councillors to play the legal card."
You do remember that our host is an active litigant, don't you?
14:14
Hog-wash. There hasn't been any "activity:" on that matter for years as far as I know.
Being outside closed session, the only new item I am aware with substance seems to be from the Former.
Hogwash, 14:55? To my knowledge, Cllr Buck hasn't dropped her lawsuit. Isn't that correct, Cllr Buck?
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