A compromise solution has been found to save the old St. Vital Church.
At a meeting of Battleford town council Monday, the town’s acting chief administrative officer, David Gillan, said they could take funds already earmarked for possible demolition and use it instead to renovate the exterior and the structure of the church.
What it means is “the church will not be open to the public, which means we don’t have to totally refinish the interior of the church, which saves us a lot if we focus on the external shell of the church,” said Gillan.
This alternative saves the more than 100-year-old building, although the church won’t function as a church anymore and the public will not be permitted inside. But it can be rehabilitated to the point it will not fall down, and the exterior, windows, and roof will all be done.
The old church had faced possible demolition after council balked at the idea of spending $472,000 to make St. Vital ready for occupancy, an estimate contained in an engineering report conducted by JC Kenyon Engineering Inc. from Nov. 21, 2018.
Local fundraisers failed to come up with a proposal in time for a final March 2 deadline to rehabilitate the church, which came and went with no takers.
The town was then on the verge of de-designating the church’s heritage status, but letters of objection were received at Town Hall which prevented that from happening this summer.
Now, council has agreed to this alternative option, which would allow them to save the church at the same price they would have paid had they gone ahead with demolition, running at between $50,000 to $60,000.
The town will work with S L Contractors Ltd. who are the same builders who retrofitted the Battleford post office. S L Contractors would do project management on this latest build.
“We can keep our asset at a price the community can afford,” said Gillan, who thanked the local contractor for stepping forward.
Once the building is rehabilitated, the town intends to further enhance the old church property with addition of tables, benches, landscaping and interpretive signage. That is estimated at an additional $5,000-$10,000. The walking trail from St. Vital to 22nd Street is also being extended and that is already part of the overall plan.
In his remarks Mayor Ames Leslie said he was happy to see the old historic building be saved.
“My ask is going to be is that we make sure it gets used,” said Leslie of the old church, who sees potential for the church to be marketed as a tourist attraction for the town. “It can’t just sit there and be a drain on the taxpayers.”
Leslie was also happy that council could be able to tell the church’s supporters the building would stay around for the foreseeable future.
Other councillors also expressed support for the plan presented to save the church.
“This arrangement seems to be a good idea,” said Councillor Gordon Yarde. “This is a nice way of preserving the building for the town.”
“Somebody stepped up, a member of our community which is awesome,” said Councillor Kevin Russell. “I think all in all it’s a great opportunity.”
“I don’t want to knock down a historic building, that’s for darn sure,” said Councillor Judy Pruden. She was happy to finally see a resolution to the contentious issue of the fate of the church, saying this was the best value for dollars and will be a “worry and a headache that we will be glad is in the past.”
“This is great news and our budget doesn’t really change from what it was before,” said Councillor Doug Laing.
In addition to approving the renovation, council also approved a change order in the contract with S L Contractors to put Plexiglas over the windows to protect them and also help protect against unauthorized entry into the church, at a cost of $6,500.
