State of Holyrood museum not as dire as feared

By Craig Westcott/April 6, 2023

The report is in, and the state of Holyrood’s museum building is not as dire as feared.

This week’s public council meeting started with Mayor Gary Goobie offering appreciation for the volunteers who run the museum, perhaps a salve for the meeting before when concerns were raised about the condition of the structure and at least one comment questioned the wisdom of the Town having agreed to buy the $465,000 building three years ago for the Heritage Committee without having first had a third party inspection of it.

“The lights burn late, and they burn often at the Holyrood Heritage Building as the group works tirelessly to ensure our heritage is showcased in a professional and unforgettable manner,” said the mayor. “Chairperson Linda Fraser and her husband Stuart are volunteering their time beyond imaginable hours and take pride in the results of their labour. They have a great group of steadfast volunteers who surround and support them and together they not only identify and protect (Holyrood’s heritage), but they create an atmosphere of intrigue, honour and respect that meets you are the door when you visit the building… I encourage residents to make it a priority this summer to visit the Holyrood Heritage Museum and experience what has been carefully and patiently crafted there.”

The mayor’s words passed without comment form the rest of council, but the subject of the building came up again during councillor Steve Winsor’s infrastructure and public works committee update. The building’s condition came to the attention of the committee earlier this year when the group occupying it complained that after three years they still couldn’t use parts of it, including a section upstairs, and concerns were raised about the condition of the roof.

“I’m happy to say that our recommendation to obtain a third-party inspection was immediately acted upon by staff,” Winsor said. “So, we appreciate that.”

Winsor said an inspection was completed on March 28. “And it wasn’t as bad as initially thought,” he said. “Having said that, neither the director, nor the committee, have had the opportunity to read the full report.”

Mayor Goobie interjected the report is 56 pages long.

“So, we have to get through that,” Winsor continued, “then obtain some construction estimates and bring that back to council so we can say ‘what does this mean, what does this cost?’ But I’m happy to say we’ve taken the first step in getting the inspection report done. And the building is safe, otherwise we wouldn’t have people go there.”

The structure was raised a third time when Mayor Goobie moved again some minutes later to allay concerns about its condition and future.

“It was quite a comprehensive inspection report,” Goobie said. “It did identify several deficiencies, but nothing that we can’t handle internally. There are two pots of money there, one that the Heritage Committee already had, and some money that the Town already has through government funding, so that’s going to go a long ways. Our public works crew have been there now over the past week or longer making great strides with the upstairs. And so, the point I’m making is that, yes, we’ve identified that there are deficiencies with the building, but all that was negotiated in bringing the price down when we purchased the building. But we are in a position that we will bring that building up to a standard that I think everyone will feel proud of and it will be well utilized. And a couple of ideas have come over my bow over the last few days as to how it may be reconfigured once the upstairs is done which could provide service for another group. So that’s good news to hear. But we will make sure that all the renovations and the things that need to be done at the Heritage Building are not going to be coming out of the budget. We’ll try to secure the necessary funding (elsewhere) to get that done.”

To that, Winsor added a caution.

“I want to make sure that everyone understands that we’re bringing it back here to all of council before we start looking at alternative plans and spending money,” he said. “Right?”

“Yes,” agreed Goobie. “What I meant by that is that we might be able to have groups that might be able to use the downstairs when the upstairs is done. It may be reconfigured a little bit, the theme rooms, that’s all, (with) no cost involved.”