That’s the message sent by participants at public meeting called to discuss Central’s options
CENTRAL MANITOULIN—A crowd of concerned community residents gathered at an evening meeting in the Mindemoya Community Hall on March 30 to express their points of view on the fate of the Mindemoya Old School building.
While most of the opinions expressed at the meeting centred on the need to preserve what many characterized as a unique piece of local history and culture, there were some that indicated they were uncomfortable with the municipality spending tax dollars to keep the facility going and competing with the private sector with commercial office space.
Central Manitoulin Mayor Richard Stephens opened the meeting and noted that he and the members of council had recently toured the building to see some of the maintenance and renovation issues first hand.
“I wasn’t aware of all the little offices in that building,” he said. “It’s like a little village all on its own.” The mayor went on to say that he hoped a “workable and viable” solution could be found to keep the building as a self-sustaining entity. “Hopefully you will come up with some ideas that can make it work,” he told the gathering.
Councillor Linda Farquhar addressed the gathering, noting that she was personally not in favour of shutting the building down and that she felt the Old School building should remain “a vital and active part of our community.”
Councillor Farquhar delivered a short history lesson on the Old School building to put the discussion in context. The building was originally built with considerable controversy back in 1922, a controversy that has some similarity with the current debate over the fate of the Old School. “There was great concern on the part of many residents over the tax increase,” said Councillor Farquhar. “Taxes, on the average, went from six dollars to $12 a year, with similar increases to farmers and businesses.”
Councillor Farquhar said that it was her belief that the municipality could allocate funds to maintain the Old School building, noting that many community buildings operate at a loss, including the two arenas.
She went on to describe the offices and layout of the current building, noting that the top floor has “one huge, light and bright room” that would ideally suit the display and sale of artisan work, while she believed that the former dentist offices could easily be transformed into an apartment and other portions of the building could be used to display the accumulated artifacts of the historical society. Although she admitted that there are considerable renovations that have to be met, Councillor Farquhar suggested that those “can be fixed.”
“All the old building needs is someone to take care of it with a little tender, loving care.”
Councillor Farquhar sat down to enthusiastic applause from much of the audience in the room.
Questions as to how much the building had cost when purchased in 1978 caused some confusion in the room until Central Manitoulin CAO Ruth Farquhar volunteered that she believed the figure to have been in the neighbourhood of $20,000. Questions of how much the renovations and refits to the building would cost and if there was asbestos involved in the building were not definite, but Mayor Stephens volunteered that due to the construction techniques of the time its presence “is understood.”
“We have reports that it is there,” interjected Councillor Derek Stephens. Councillor Dale Scott noted that while the engineering firm consulted by the municipality had not conducted specific tests for the presence of asbestos, “age indicates it could be there.”
The meeting was then opened to the public attending for their input.
Lawyer Janelle Proulx, one of the few remaining tenants of the Old School building, gave a brief history of her involvement in the building pointing out that she had signed a three-year lease in good faith and that she only learned of council’s consideration of closing the building after she had committed considerable time and treasure in setting up her offices. “It was the last thing I expected to be dealing with,” she said. “This is a huge loss looming over me, in time and money. I have spent thousands of dollars and lots of time to open my office.”
Ms. Proulx questioned the municipality’s approach to renting out the office space in the building, and pointed out that she only found out by accident that there was space available in the building. “If you want to rent out the space, you have to let people know it is available.”
Ms. Proulx, and some of the people who were there as her supporters, noted that young people move to the community for a simpler lifestyle and the sense of history, culture and belonging that it provides. She referenced the approach of Central Manitoulin’s neighbour, Billings, as a contrast.
It was also pointed out that the items listed in the engineering report on the building, prepared by Tulloch Engineering, did not all need to be completed at once and continued on to reference the municipality’s spending $100,000 on a boat launch “which they then abandoned.” Other speakers indicated that they believed that “in order for Mindemoya to flourish, it is important for both the old and the new to be nurtured and supported.”
At the end of the meeting, Councillor Patricia MacDonald rebutted the assertion the municipality had abandoned the boat launch, pointing out that the matter is still ongoing, with the municipality seeking to find a solution to that issue.
Mindemoya businesswoman Maja Mielonen stated her support for previous speakers in favour of keeping the Old School building functioning in some capacity. Ms. Mielonen noted that the building is a century old and suggested that “it could be anything. It is a treasure,” she added, noting that those examining the issue are seeing gain instead of history and culture. “Where there is a will, there is money,” she said.
Mindemoya resident Jim Smith recalled the loss of the old Bank of Montreal building, which was torn down to make way for new offices. “We are in a type of community people come to see because of our heritage,” he said. “Destroying the Old School would be a mistake.” Mr. Smith continued saying, “I am sure you have looked into heritage grants—did you find anything?”
The reply from Mayor Stephens did not suggest much had come from that line of reference.
Providence Bay resident Lyle Dewar also lamented the loss of the old Bank of Montreal building, noting that when plans were announced to tear down the old net building “I had to put my money where my mouth is. I said ‘if you move it, I will put a steel roof on it,’ which I did,” recalled Mr. Dewar.
Mr. Dewar suggested that “doing a little bit at a time” would be a workable solution to the challenge of the ongoing costs of retrofitting the Old School building.
Christine Blake, who works for the Manitoulin Mental Health and Addictions program, also one of the tenants in the building, said her agency had “sent a letter documenting our concerns” to the municipality. She noted that the agency provides important services to the entire Island community and have done so for 40 years, half that time based in the Old School building. “We moved in when the municipality and the library moved out,” she recalled. She asked the council to consider the benefits of the services that are provided to the community and their importance to the mental health of the community. “There is a responsibility to address all needs of the community,” she suggested. Ms. Blake pointed out the challenges presented in finding comparable accommodation for the program in the community, particularly in light of tight budgeting, as well as the challenges presented by the lack of transportation on the Island.
Questions then came from the floor asking how much the office space in the building cost, to which the CAO replied “about nine dollars a square foot, which is about one-third of the commercial space.”
Mayor Stephens supplied that the average operating costs of the building were $38,000 to $40,000 a year. “When we had the building fully rented, it just about matched what we were bringing in,” he said. “Basically, we are looking for alternatives.”
Ed Legge, a local contractor, supplied an average local commercial rent figure of $12 to $13 per square foot.
Former Central Manitoulin Councillor Gloria Haner questioned why the utilities for the building had risen so dramatically over the past couple of years—referencing a factor two to three times.
Sharon Stephens asked if consideration had been taken into account of the impending requirements for accessibility for the building and whether the Old School could meet those requirements.
“Not without major renovations,” responded Councillor Stephens. “It’s hard to put a number on it.”
A response from the floor noted that by 2025 all small businesses will be required to comply with the regulations under the Accessible Ontario provisions.
“Whether we keep it open or not, we have to look at the capital costs,” noted Councillor Dale Scott, who pointed out that there had been nominal maintenance since the building was vacated by the municipality and the library. “The plumbing is in bad shape,” he continued, informing the audience that during the council tour of the building, he had witnessed sewage travelling through rotted cast iron pipes. Councillor Scott said that it would likely cost between $50,000 to $100,000 to refurbish the plumbing. He went on to point out the challenges of having to rejig the office layouts, the need to move walls and attendant electrical services. “Fifty thousand might not do it,” he said, adding that another $50,000 would easily be required for the electrical work, and another $20,000 to $25,000 in order to deal with accessible washroom facilities. In the end, he estimated the work would easily top $100,000, before adding in the challenge of supplying other accessibility options. “Chair lifts tend not to work well,” he said, pointing to the issues in the Community Centre building in which the meeting was taking place. While saying he was not necessarily in favour of closing the building, he wanted to ensure that those in attendance had an appreciation of the scale of the financial challenge facing the municipality in keeping the building open.
Councillor Scott added to the litany of woes by pointing out the need for a new HVAC solution for the building, a challenge that had a tentative price tag north of $250,000 two years ago, suggesting a current valuation could reach $350,000, to which should be added a further $5,000 to $6,000 for insulation in the roof. “And the roof needs to be redone, which is another $30,000 bill (at conservative estimates). In the end, he said, the tally could top $100,000 a year for the next decade. “It can be done,” he noted, but added that there would have to be strong support for dedicating a million dollars of taxpayers’ money to the project.
Even given that approach, there would be the challenge of having to move the current tenants out of the building while the major work was undertaken.
Questions as to what the cost to individual taxpayers would be should the town move forward with renovations was responded to by Councillor MacDonald with a figure of $50, but Councillor Alex Baran corrected that to $500 (Councillor MacDonald’s figure was a per annum amount based on $50 a year for 10 years).
Councillor Scott pointed out that demolition is a one-time cost, while the renovation and maintenance would be ongoing costs. Mr. Legge noted that demolition costs would run to $25,000 and take about two days.
Mr. Legge noted that it should be a question of “whether you are willing to put a million dollars into a new modern building that meets all of the codes, is efficient, or do you want to put that money into an old building?”
“Some things are worth spending money on,” suggested Mr. Smith.
“It’s the culture,” clarified Mayor Stephens.
“Pretty expensive culture,” responded Mr. Legge.
“We would not be the community we are without the Old School building,” noted resident Steve Schaffer. “This could be some of the best economic development dollars we spend. We wouldn’t be the community we are if we didn’t subsidize (the office space).”
“Taxpayers eyes have to be open,” responded Councillor Scott.
Joanne Smith suggested that the bulldozing of the Old School to be replaced by a glass and steel modern building would be a historical travesty.
Councillor Ted Taylor noted that he had attended school in every room of the building, but that if the building were to sit empty for any length of time “it will implode.”
Councillor MacDonald put forward a concern about the municipality competing with the private sector for commercial space rentals, a concern shared privately by a business owner in the audience who did not want to voice his opinion openly in the meeting.
“It might surprise some people that I am not in favour of tearing down historical buildings,” said Mindemoya businessman Wayne Legge. He asked if it made sense to have three buildings in the community with the accessibility challenges of 2025 coming, or whether a new modern building that meets the needs of all three in an efficient manner, “you could do a lot of things with that building,” he said, suggesting that a long term plan (on the order of 10 years or more) for the building should be investigated, such as the Old School being revamped into a seasonal facility that could withstand being empty for the winter seasons.
Councillor Baran said that his first impulse was not to tear down buildings, but that the current council had heard the queries at the all candidates meeting about what the councillors would do with excess buildings. While keeping the Old School is an emotional decision, the key question has to be “can we afford this?”
As the meeting drew to a close, Councillor Baran made a personal commitment as a councillor to ensure that Ms. Proulx was properly compensated for any out of pocket expenses she incurs should council decide to go ahead with the closure.
Mayor Stephens suggested that another meeting might well be needed to canvass ideas from the community, following a suggestion from one attendee that they did not realize they had to come to the meeting with “ideas fleshed out” for the use of the old School. “What we are doing is ongoing,” suggested the mayor.
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