Town council has set aside $35,000 toward demolishing the old St. Vital Church, but only if council approves the decision.
Nothing regarding the old church, councillors say, is certain at this point. The money could be used elsewhere.
The church hasn’t been in use for many years. There has been recent illicit activity around the church.
“We don’t want to have what’s happened before to the Government House,” CAO John Enns-Wind said, referring to a fire that destroyed that building in 2003.
Town staff have taken artifacts out of the church for safekeeping, with the exception of a tile fresco. “[We] can’t get that out without affecting supports of the building,” Enns-Wind said.
Restoring the church, according to one estimate, would cost at least $800,000.
Mayor Ames Leslie said next steps for council include gauging public interest, and to find out if there is “hearsay emotional attachment to the church, is it true emotional attachment or is it just something, because it’s been there forever, we assume there is high level emotional attachment.”
