By Tyler Marr

Future of Nisbet Church unclear after budget talks

Nov 19, 2017 | 8:02 AM

The future of what is believed to be the second oldest buildings in Saskatchewan is up in the air after the topic received a heavy spotlight during general budget deliberations.

Earmarked in this year’s budget was $10,000 to gradually takedown and store historically valuable pieces of the Block House and Nisbet Church at Kinsmen Park. Both buildings are currently closed to the public because of structural concerns.

This was decided on by the Historical Society as the 145-year-old buildings have deteriorated severely. A recent engineering study of the structures showed a restoration would come with a price tag of around $750,000.

But when it came time to vote on the item, Coun. Dennis Ogrodnick expressed trepidation over the proposal and motioned to remove it.

“I think we should hold off,” he said. “It is a shame that we are not at least putting in place a plan to save them, that we are just willing to knock them down.”

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Ogrodnick, who previously sat on the Historical Society’s board, wanted to grant community groups an opportunity to fundraise for the restoration. Sharing in his belief, earlier this week, Dr. John Fryters with the Seniors Advocacy Group branded the move as “short-sighted.”

“The church is one of the last links to the past,” Fryters previously told paNOW. “The city was started by Reverend Nisbet and that was his church. Many of the things that happened with the settlers were centred around that church.”

The Historical Society has been vocal on how they do not have the money but would favour a restore of the buildings. Curator Michelle Taylor has said the proposal would protect what is left of the quickly rotting structures feared to be near a natural collapse.

Though not aspiring to see the buildings hit the ground, Mayor Greg Dionne fought to keep the line time as a placeholder, highlighting whereby “in six months, if they say, ‘We tried to rebuild them. We can’t raise the money,’ we have the money. Otherwise, we don’t have the money.”

Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp, another keen preserver of the past, conceited it “made sense” to have a budgeted item for dealing with the building.

With clear confusion on the floor, she and others requested clarity on what exactly the funds would do. 

Administration admitted “demolish” was perhaps too harsh of a word and reassured council the money would be for a “systematic deconstruction or dismantling” of the facilities on the Historical Society’s terms.

The funds would ensure preservation of some parts of the buildings — gun ports, windows, etc — and whatever the society did not or could not save, would go. City staff added how the future of the buildings has remained “a regular topic” between the two agencies for some time.

After minor cross arguments between some elected officials, a 6-3 vote removed the earmarked cash. 

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr