Editor’s note: This letter has been edited for length and clarity. Read the complete letter online at www.hopestandard.com.
Editor:
The Feb. 22 council meeting and the subsequent Committe of the Whole meeting werecertainly more informative and enlightening than I ever expected. When the Coalition for the Preservation of the Hope Station House presented their plan to save the Station House , little did they know that Council would hear the petition, not ask questions and then vote unanimously to demolish this historical building. Council has other plans for the land on Water Avenue, where the old Information Centre was situated and where the Coalition wishes to relocate the Station House.
The Coalition presented to council criteria that demonstrated a renovation of the Station House is much cheaper than a new build. We could place the Station House on district-owned land and apply for grants to renovate and develop the facility. Given that no one questioned the presentation, it begs the question: Was council decided in its verdict prior to the meeting?
In the Committee of the Whole Meeting following the regular council meeting, Henry Ahking of Cascade Facilities Management Consultants presented to council a plan to redevelop the Municipal Hall portion of Memorial Park. This proposal has been “in the works” for a considerable length of time as they had progressed through five major tasks before the Feb. 22 meeting. These five steps most certainly took much longer than the 2 weeks since the last meeting when it wasn’t even mentioned. There has never been, that I can determine, any discussion of this proposal in the public part of council’s meetings even though it is not an “in-camera” subject because it discusses the development of public buildings on public land. Nothing secretive about that.
With Ahking’s presentation, the “lightbulb went on” and it became obvious that this project had been kept under the radar. So here is the crux of the matter: Memorial Park is protected from development under the provincial Land Act and was given to the District of Hope: “in trust to maintain and preserve the same as a public park or pleasure ground for the use, recreation and enjoyment of the public.” This council shows a disregard for this statute by trying to convince the citizens that development would be in everyone’s best interests – a larger, new two-storey Municipal Hall, Museum, Information Centre, and Arts Gallery. All of these facilities would be crowded on a 160′-by-160′ piece of land where the Municipal Hall is now situated. This would also be accompanied by the need for larger areas of parking for RVs, motorhomes and cars. As parking is now at a premium in the downtown core, more land would have to be removed from the park to accommodate this. Curbside parking would no longer do the job even though the consultant claims it will suffice.
No wonder they didn’t want to hear the proposal to save the Station House. Oh, by the way,
The old Information Centre site is to become the home of a new Fire Hall and Search and Rescue building. All of these new buildings will cost in excess of $19 million in today’s dollars even though Council says it can offset some of the costs by selling surplus property and developing the plan over the next 25 years.
Do we need all of these buildings? Or could the money be better spent on our roads, etc? Please remember that the least expensive and greener option to preserve our history and to address our need for a new Information Centre is to restore the Station House. There is much more to this story, and as I uncover the layers, I will continue to write letters to keep everyone informed on these issues. Up-to-date information and official documents can be accessed on the publicly accessible Save the Hope Station House Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/savethehopestationhouse). I implore you to speak out and help protect these two heritage sites – the Hope Station House and Memorial Park.
Arlene Webster
Hope
