This morning I attended the BBA (Beaumont Business Association) breakfast with Denis Hinse. He is a member of the Beaumont Lions Club and he thought it would be a great opportunity to let people know about the historical project I am working on right now. I tried to be brief but fortunately there was a lot of interest and so I had a number of questions to answer. As a result we now have a new member of our historical society and one business that offered to help us with the project. Awesome.
Our goal is to save the oldest building in Beaumont and we have a very short time to do it. The home was built by the St. Jacques family back in 1912 so it is 98 years old. This property and others adjacent have been purchased for a future development. As with any investment there is pressure to make it profitable so the two remaining homes that are still standing need to be removed to allow the development to go ahead. In short, they are to be demolished.
The residence is located right next to St. Vital cemetery, is still occupied by the family, and therefore the home has never been left vacant. My brief visit last year gave me the impression that it has been well cared for. In order to save the home we need a place to move it to. The new owners are generously willing to give it to us for free if we can remove it "in a timely manner" and assume all legal responsibility for it. Town administration has been helping us to decide on three possible town sites to move it to. Our favorite site by far is the Lion's RV/Gerry Patsula Park.
Our vision is to make the facility a multi-use project. It could serve as a home museum/town visitor's center/artistic showroom/ community center/nature center. Right now we are working on developing a partnership with the Beaumont Agricultural Society and the Beaumont Lions Club. There are a lot of details to sort out to make this dream a reality. I discussed the project with the Chair of the Artist's Association yesterday and she was quite excited about it's potential and suggested we call it "St. Jacques House".
One question from today's gathering brought up a valid point. Who exactly will run the facility? I had assumed that since it would be on town property it would have to be their responsibility. It would be used to promote town history and could serve as their visitor center. But maybe we should look at this in a different way. Maybe this should be under the control and ownership of local community groups, in partnership with the town, and enjoy tax free status ;)
All I know is that we need to work on this quickly. Once the ground has thawed and spring is upon us the demolition preparations will begin. This is going to need the support of many people, community groups and businesses, as well as the Town of Beaumont.
Won't it be nice to have something to showcase when the 2010 Communities in Bloom judges come to town? If you would like to be part of our team, just comment below or phone me at:
780-929-8031 (home) or 780-932-8031 (cell)
No comments:
Post a Comment