Editor:
The Coalition for the Preservation of the Hope Station House is incredibly disappointed about the District’s decision not to grant a stay on the Station House demolition at the Feb. 22 council meeting.
Our aim has always been to engage positively with the District and work together to find a future for this beautiful and historic building, so we’re also frustrated by the councillors’ lack of engagement with us following our presentation.
Our members Janet Wort and April Webster shared compelling facts showing the financial, environmental, societal and long-term economic value that preserving the Station House would bring over the construction of new buildings. None of this was mentioned during the councillor’s final comments. Referring back to previous incarnations of the Station House also failed to acknowledge the important points we raised about the evolving tourism market. As we all know, tourism is one of the biggest contributors to our local economy, and as a growing sector of the tourism market with built-in advertising opportunities through regional and national networks, heritage-related tourism is something we can’t afford to ignore.
As Emili Losier mentioned during the video portion of our presentation, we appreciate the efforts that have been made in the past to try to save the Station House. But there is also a thread running through this,of important issues that have been overlooked. In 1982, a bylaw was passed, recognizing the Station House as a municipal heritage site. In January 2015, when the then Community Arts and Heritage Society agreed to pass ownership of the building to the District, it included “preservation of the building…benefiting the whole community” in its conditions. In the Licence of Occupation granted to the District by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Ministry required that the District maintain the building in “a safe, clean and sanitary condition.” The deteriorating condition of the Station House and the incorrect statements being passed around about its costliness will have made it harder for some people to see its true value. There have also been missed opportunities to apply for significant grants, and members of council continue to quote inaccurate information about important issues such as heritage legislation.
Our coalition and its thousands of supporters had an inspiring and compelling vision for the future of this building. For school children to be able to visit a museum housed in a hundred-year-old building, would have helped history to come alive to them. We are so disappointed that this final opportunity to do something special with this building for the benefit of our community has been turned down.
The Coalition for the Preservation of the Hope Station House