A few things as we head into the weekend…
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Greg Heil, the chair of the Heritage Committee, had an excellent letter published in today’s paper, outlining the trouble’s we’re facing with the the current city administration…
City heritage at risk
Letter
Friday, April 18, 2008
The historic Seagrave Building is lost … perhaps it’s time to save the Windsor Heritage Committee itself from “demolition.”
I have served on the Windsor Heritage Committee for 10 years, most of those in the capacity of chair. I’m proud to be associated with the achievements the WHC has made toward protecting our city’s heritage. This has included the recent preservation of the Holy Rosary Convent and John Campbell school buildings and multiple other property designations under the Ontario Heritage Act. We have been grateful for the strong heritage awareness and support exhibited by the current city council for these initiatives. As well, the committee has carried on a long tradition of annual local heritage celebration through community recognition awards, Heritage Highlights video clips, heritage property funding, youth colouring contests and many other projects. Indeed, the vibrancy of Windsor’s heritage advocacy was recognized in 2005 as a provincial standout by the Ontario Heritage Trust.
Beyond the significant efforts by a group of volunteer members, the lifeblood of the WHC has traditionally been the dedicated and professional service of the heritage planner, a full- time city staff member who would conduct our research, guide the structure of our motions, police other city departments with respect to heritage priorities and otherwise co-ordinate all aspects of WHC activities. It is a vital and indispensable role in the heritage life of our city. Windsorites owe a debt of gratitude to Nancy Morand who served with distinction in this capacity for many years until her retirement mid last year.
It’s with Nancy’s departure that our serious problems began. We expected that her qualified replacement would be hired in advance for training and a seamless transition prior to her leaving.
Instead, without consultation with us, an arbitrary decision was made by senior administration not to replace the position, ostensibly, for reasons of cost efficiency. In the void left behind, we now have heritage chaos. Murky interdepartmental and personal agendas prevail and we’ve seen a silly tug-of-war over the heritage mandate between planning and cultural affairs departments.
As a result, we fail to receive adequate support from either. The careful protocols put in place by Nancy to flag heritage interests among building and planning departments applications has broken down and big things are falling through the cracks. Our modest operating budget has been cut to one-third its traditional level. Heritage Week in Windsor was effectively cancelled this year because no one could get authorization to reproduce a few hundred copies of the colouring contest form to distribute to the schools and the community heritage recognition awards were hijacked by others. Despite this, we try to carry on. I laud the efforts of our Doors Open subcommittee dedicated to bringing back this popular program notwithstanding lacklustre financial and material support from the city. But even our recent initiatives toward saving the prominent Low-Martin House have been stymied by needless procedural wrangling evident of a city administration without an appropriate structure for heritage administration.
We have repeatedly brought our concerns to the attention of the CAO and other senior administration staff without the courtesy of a reply. We have also appealed to our councillors without effect.
It’s time for council and the mayor to review this matter “in the full light of day.” Without it, it’s only a matter of time before another Seagrave building falls to a bulldozer and the Windsor Heritage Committee is damaged beyond repair.
GREGORY HEIL
Chair, Windsor Heritage Committee
© The Windsor Star 2008
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The Low-Martin house in Walkerville has been saved! All praise Frank Vella for his dedication to getting this deal done. We on the Heritage Committee have been working with him since November to offer him support as he tried to negotiate a purchase deal. I don’t know too many individuals who would put forth the effort Mr. Vella has over six months to get this deal done.
When complete the project will set the standard for renovation of threatened heritage properties in the City. I have had several opportunities to speak with Mr. Vella and to meet with his team. Let me just say I have the utmost faith in Mr. Vella’s plans and he is truly a heritage hero.
Hopefully I’ll be albe to get a tour of the property and take some photos to share with IM readers…
Pharmacist to renovate Martin house
By Doug Williamson, Windsor Star
Published: Friday, April 18, 2008It’s Windsor’s ultimate fixer-upper, but to Francesco Vella it’s a genuine labour of love.
Vella, 29, is the proud new owner of the Low-Martin house in Walkerville, after months of negotiation and effort to secure the historic piece of property best known as the former home of Paul Martin Sr. and his wife Nell.
But securing a treasured part of Windsor’s past comes at a price: Vella estimates it will cost at least $500,000 to restore the 4,000-square-foot English cottage-style home to its former glory, inside and out. He wouldn’t reveal the purchase price, but one source said it was between $400,000 and $500,000… [the rest of the story can be found at the link below]
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And finally….
Save the date!
Next Wednesday, April 23rd at 7:30 pm, is the next blogger meetup.
We’re meeting at Taloola Cafe in Old Walkerville on Devonshire.
http://windsoreats.com/taloola/
The event is open to everyone, bloggers, readers, commentors and lurkers.
Hope to see you out there!
Big kudo’s to Mr. Heil for tellin git like it is at cityhall. If most of teh taxpayers realized just howmuch money is squandered at city hall due to ineptness or personal agenda’s they would be asking for an audit of the entire corporation; Which should be done anyway.
Great letter for all of Windsorites to see!
Agreed. And the Star did a well by making it the letter of the day right in the middle of the page with a big picture of the Seagrave building coming down. There’s no way to turn past that while browsing the first section.
Yes kudos to Mr. Heil and the Star (this time) for telling like it is at city hall! The city didn’t drop the ball on this one, it was their pure lack of due diligence under their own rules that allowed the crime to happen. I guess the real free lunch is over for this city, heritage, history and arts are of no value to this city administration. But what does Gignac know about heritage, living in an unattractive sub-division as Forerst Glade.
“THE FREE RIDE IS OVER”
-Joanne Gignac, to the arts groups at council
I would like to know when COUNCIL’S FREE RIDE IS OVER with regards to their $35,000/yr dinners?
Imagine if that $35,000 was used for the arts and thus doubling the amount they receive or if it was used for the Heritage Committee for incidentals like colouring books and the like. Instead the fat cats want to get fatter. I really think Ms. Gignac is going senile. Regardless, as a councillor who lives in Forest Glad I am sure her ward does’t benefit much from teh arts programs that is why she doesn’t want to support them…go figure as I thought it was the CITY OF Windsor and NOT Forest Glade of Windsor.
I wanted to add. we don’t have money for heritage or arts but we have money for a tunnel deal that is souring by the day and for over $4 million for the tunnel lawyers and Greenlink (not including over $800,000 in advertisements for Greenlink). The hypocrisy isn’t only maddening but it sickens me.
Hi Andrew, everyone is more than welcome to tour the house!!!!! Thank you for your support!!!
In regards to the Greenlink postcard campaign, and the subsequent mailing-out of thousands of these postcards to Windsor households in the hope that they’ll be filled out and mailed back to the government:
How “green” is the idea of sending out these thousands of postcards? Isn’t there a more environmentally friendly way than mailing a piece of paper?
A little off-topic, sort of. The Taloola Cafe is a fabulous place to have meetup. The staff is wonderful, the drinks are delicious and the chocolate chip cookies — well, I just wish that they shipped!
Josh – Does that mean you’re coming down from PEI for Wednesday’s meetup? 🙂
Andrew, any chance you’ll be taking Francesco up on his offer and posting the pictures here?
David – Done. I’ll post the photos Monday.
Really great news about the house! Well done Francesco!!!!!!!!!! He is the exactly the type of person that helps move a city like this forward while on the other hand Gignac is the type of narrow minded petty individual with no sense of vision who helps maintain Windsor in a decline. I remember as a trustee how she helped to screw up the school board in the 90’s. Good to see that she is a consistent as a loser. How these people get voted into office is beyond me.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that something is finally going to be done with the Low-Martin house! I drive by that house everyday and think it’s such a beautiful place. It’s good to see that it isn’t going to be left sitting for much longer. It’s going to be a huge undertaking but definately worth it. I’m looking forward to the finished product! Kudos!
Longtime no speak, but on a very different topic. You may have all herd about the mating pair of peregrine falcons that are nesting under the bridge. No lie, I witnessed one fly over the corner of Kildare and Tuscarora today. The falcon had a medium sized bird in it’s talon. It no more than 50 feet over my head. Great to see an indangered bird in this polluted cloudmass we can Windsor.
OMG…so excited to read the article in the paper, and on the A-channel news regarding the Low-Martin house….
Big props to Francesco for taking on such a BIG task, but my friend it will be worth it in the end. I cannot wait to see, and witness its progress while you bring this masterpiece back to it’s former glory.
I wish the star would have posted more pictures tho, from what I did see, it seems most of the house has many original features….and OMG are those leaded glass windows amazing!!! Anyone know any history on it’s former own?
I am also glad to see the city helping with this project, and hope this serves as a wake up call for others who are able to take on a project of this size…There is help out there if people only take the time to seek it out Wonderful news…specially in the midst of the terrible Seagrave tragedy.
Thanks again Frank, and the WHC. I’m happy to see some money being directed his way. One foot note…….very pleased with the letter from Gregory Heil of WHC. Words well spoken!! Time for change!!
Does anyone have a link to the A-Channel news video coverage of the Low-Martin house? I searched their website, but of coarse it’s not on there. The story is covered, but only in writting…I looked on you tube also…but nothing…Can anyone help?
Thanks guys…I missed it as I was getting ready for work…LOL
The fact this home is in good hands is indeed a nice consolation prize for those of us lamenting the loss of the Seagrave building. I’m sure if the new owner hadn’t stepped up to the plate, the Low-Martin home too would have had its date with the bulldozer! Good stuff.
Wayne Pike is a friend that invested a fortune into the house.Old man Martin didn’t invest a single cent into the house and it was near ruin.
Good luck to the hew owner as he is looking at investing a good fortune into the house.
Of course Simeon. He was a liberal after all. Spend money on friends, spend money on trips, spend money on everything except cities and neighbourhoods.
A big round of applause for Francesco! I understand you own a couple of older buildings in the city. Would you mind helping us put pressure on city hall to invest in neighbourhoods instead of their own agendas?
Thanks for the encouragement guys, i appreciate it. Furthermore, I agree that the previous owners did put quite a bit of work in the house. If they’re out there, I just wanted to thank them for giving me a chance….The city should surely think about preserving these types of sites & anything I could do to help would be an honor.
Folks it took forever to get the house on the official heritage list .The true problem is that the committee runs around like chickens with their heads cut off screaming this and that sites are heritage but failing to register them.
Wayne Pike should be thanked for his battle with the stoopid bureaucracy and all it’s ineptitudes to get the house registered.
Simeon, with all due respect as someone who sat on the committee and dealt with your friend that’s utter bullshit., We begged him for years to designate the house, and we offered him all kind of financial assistance that he wouldn’t take, as the house continued to deteriorate. That house was on the list fron day one in 1978 Simeon, so I don’t know what line your pal fed you, but the ultimiate solution was to force designation on the property. We did that, for only the second time.
Wanye Pike didn’t do shit for getting that house registered, in fact he fought the entire process until the end.
Get your facts straight Simeon.
I had thought Wyane wanted to sever the property as well. What would have been lost was the garage in the rear, I am sure of it.
Maybe the committee needs to do more forced designations if we ever want to see structures such as the Low house (I refuse to put the Martin name in it as he only lived there in the ’50s).