Ultimatum date set for old St. Vital Church

If by Jan. 3, 2020, no group steps up with a plan to raise the necessary funds to preserve and restore the church, action will be taken to raise the building and recover the body of the priest buried under the alter and move him to the Oblates’ cemetery.

Contractors have estimated a full rehabilitation of the church, conservatively, is about $500,000.

“There is a lot of stress on the town’s finances,” CAO John Enns-Wind told lawmakers as he pitched the recommendation Monday night.

He said any group who wants to help would have to come up with around $75,000 by next spring to start work on the structure next summer to prevent it from falling over. Following, fundraising efforts would need to occur to cobble together the remaining funds to restore the municipal heritage designated building.

Council reluctantly approved the proposal as while no one around the table wants to see the 136-year-old church disappear, none can justify spending half-a-million taxpayer dollars on the rehabilitation.

“It is unfortunate but I can’t fathom putting that kind of money into a building that has been neglected for so long,” Coun. Susan McLean Tady said.

Coun. Kevin Russell struggled to understand how the town could designate a property a heritage building only to take it down.

“I want to absolutely try to get some group interested to maintain this but I also don’t want to see it torn down,” he said.

Coun. Shelly Boutin-Gervais agreed as she said is it an important part of Battleford’s history.

“I just hope that somehow we can find some money or raise some money to fix it,” she said.

In Enns-Wind’s original proposal, a date of Oct. 15 was selected for groups to come forward. However, Coun. Judy Pruden pushed back, saying this was too short of a deadline and requested a later date.

“The only industry we have is possibly tourism and we have been gifted the history and if we can ever expand on our tourism … based on our history, we need our historic buildings,” she said.

In June, the church was listed as one of the Top 10 endangered historic places in Canada by National Trust Canada. The agency works to preserve and tell the story of historic locations in the country.

At the time, the Battlefords North West Historical Society indicated a willingness to help but it is unknown if they will come forward with a more substantial plan.

The CAO understood the concerns of lawmakers but maintained the municipality needs to be prudent with its cash. He said no grant money is available from the province or Ottawa.

“I don’t know that we can save all the historic buildings and we need prudent choices as to what can we save,” he said.

Enns-Wind pointed to the dominion land titles building and how that investment turned into a successful museum but made note of the lingering $1.8 million investment needed to restore the trestle bridge. Town Hall, the Fred Light Museum and other historic buildings will require financial investment down the road, too, he said.

“We have to start taking a very clear approach as to where we are going to invest our money and how and what is going to make it and what is not,” he said. “Unfortunately, it is a hard decision.”

Mayor Ames Leslie said prior canvassing of support for the initiative in the town was lacking at best. While he said many people want to see the church survive no one has come forward with a plan.

“But they need to come forward quick,” he said. “It is unnervingly quiet to have something that has been there for a century go away.”

He said himself and council struggle to justify the massive repair bill.

“We have lots of those assets in our community we have to focus on but if someone is willing to help and come save it, I am sure council would be willing to support,” he said. “But today, half-a-million in taxpayers’ dollars is too big of an ask.”

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr

by Tyler Marr

Ultimatum date set for old St. Vital Church

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