I recently received an e-mail from Ontario’s Minister of Culture, Aileen Carroll - more specifically, from her Orwellian titled, “Correspondence Unit.”

Apparently, “Minister Carroll would be pleased to respond to [me] in writing.” I received this message 12 days ago and am still waiting for her letter to arrive in the mail. I bet her penmanship is stunning.

The tardiness of her response, however, has convinced me that her request for my address was just a way for big brother to better track my agitating actions. When her words arrive, rest assured, they’ll be posted.

As I am still intent on saving Alma College and the readers of my blog, for the most part, are in PR, I was hoping I could ask for you advice.

You see, the preservation of Alma College is in the interest of all Canadians - it’s just that most of us don’t know that. The only way to reach an audience this diverse is through mainstream media.

My question is, how would you go about getting the needed media attention?

I know you’ll all now rush to read my previous posts on the topic to inform your own comments, but a fresh perspective is always helpful. As such, I’m pasting an article below by Catherine Nasmith from Built Heritage News. You can also check out the Alma College articles I tagged on del.icio.us.

I have my own ideas on how to proceed, but I want to hear from you.

Years of Failed Heritage Policy Come Home to Roost at Alma College

Readers of Built Heritage News are aware of the ongoing attrition of Canada’s architectural heritage. Even with the vastly improved Ontario Heritage Act that gives municipalities the power to stop demolition, fires, development pressure, and weak municipal councils continue to chip away at the stock.

The case that most clearly illustrates the impact of 30 years of failed Ontario heritage policy is the impending demolition of Alma College in St. Thomas. Even with the will to save the building, which the municipality clearly had, without some kind of funding to assist with restoration costs, the project is not viable for the private owner.

Ontario and Canada have failed miserably in providing the kind of routine support for property owners that is normal in the United States, Britain and other parts of Europe. Ongoing property maintenance keeps heritage buildings from becoming casualties. Maintenance money is not very sexy, but simple things like making sure the windows are painted, the masonry is pointed, eavestroughs are in place and the roof doesn’t leak will keep 19th century buildings in use indefinitely. They were built to last.

Even in a state of relative dereliction Alma College is spectacularly beautiful, rivaling University College or the Connaught Laboratory building at the head of Spadina Avenue in Toronto. If Alma College was in a larger urban centre it would be getting front-page coverage in all the major media outlets, but in St. Thomas it is off the national media radar screen.

Designed in 1877 by Hamilton architect James Balfour and opened in 1881 the building has suffered demolition by neglect since it was sold by the College. St. Thomas Council stood by helpless pre-2005 unable to force the owner to keep the building in a good state of repair. If they had attempted to use their powers, the counter move by the property owner would have been to apply for a demolition permit and the building would have been lost after six months. One developer stripped the property of its interior, intending to redevelop for housing. The project didn’t go forward, but not before massive damage had occurred. The next owners, the Zubick family did not take even the most basic preventative measures. What was repairable has become very expensive to reverse. Yet this is not a building that can be lost.

For the last couple of years the Zubick family and St. Thomas Council have been fighting it out in court with the town trying to use new powers to force repairs, the owners overturning in court the local heritage maintenance bylaw. The province sent in members of the Ontario Heritage Trust to try to mediate, but put no money on the table. Finally, in a behind closed door decision on the eve of the final Ontario Municipal Board hearing, the Town and the owners agreed to demolish all but the front entrance, possibly including the tower. Without a party to offer any expert testimony in favour of saving the building, (The Alma College Foundation was denied party status by the OMB) the OMB had little option but to accept the agreement put forward by the parties before it, the Town of St. Thomas and the property owners.

Alma College IS front and centre for heritage preservation groups. It is on both Heritage Canada’s and the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario’s most endangered lists. Both organizations have written to the Minister of Culture to intervene to save it following the recent OMB decision that accepted the deal struck by the property owner and the municipality to permit demolition.

The last hope to save the building sits with the current Minister of Culture, Aileen Carroll. Because she has the power to intervene, if she fails to act the anger will be focused on the province. The Minister of Culture, Ailleen Carroll indicated that she would not comment or act until such time as the OMB appeal period has expired. It is discouraging that the standard response from the Minister of Culture to letters from the public pressing for action has been “I respect the Ontario Municipal Board’s judicial process and the challenges faced in issuing a decision on Alma College” as well as ” Staff from the Ministry of Culture and staff from the Ontario Heritage Trust worked with the owners, the City of St. Thomas, and other heritage stakeholders, including the Heritage Central Elgin committee to encourage dialogue to find solutions that would save Alma College and integrate the building into any new development”.

Talk will not be enough to save this building.

The most important request to Minister Carroll came from Steve Peters, MPP following a meeting with resident Dawn Doty, Dr. Robert Burns and Lara Leitch of the Alma College Foundation. In his letter to the Minister, he said “As a result of this meeting, and the many email messages, letters and telephone calls my constituent office and other MPP offices across the province have received on this issue, I felt compelled to write this letter.” He goes on to request the Minister to issue a 60 day stop order should a demolition permit be issued, and to request an evaluation by the Ontario Heritage Trust of “whether or not Alma College may be eligible for provincial designation”.

The Mayor of St. Thomas, Cliff Berwick in a letter to constituent Bob Foster cuts to the heart of the matter. “In all my correspondence with the province and private individual, including the Zubicks no one has offered any money……municipalities can not afford to be the sole financial supporter to maintain heritage.”

Dawn Doty, the neighbour of Alma who has gathered 3000 signatures on a petition to save Alma can’t get a meeting with the Minister of Culture. She reports that in conversation with the Zubick family, the Zubicks would love to save the building but can’t afford to do so. She doesn’t understand why the province pledged 7M to save the Lister Block in Hamilton yet offers nothing for Alma, or why the province got involved in the Moore farmhouse in Sparta, but ignores pleas to intervene in Alma. Good questions.

The province’s respect for municipal or OMB process looks more like abdication of responsibility. It is not realistic for the province to expect a small municipality like St. Thomas to be able to deal with such a legal and financial challenge. The building’s value is clear to anyone, yet the province has hung back far beyond the 11th hour.

I am still dreaming of a press event on the lawn of Alma College, with the premier and the Minister of Culture declaring never again, Alma College will be saved, the time has come to end demolition by neglect–the 30 year period of mismanagement of our heritage resources is over. Instead we may get the nightmare of watching this fine building reduced to rubble.

Keep those cards and letters flowing.

Editor’s Note: I am also the President of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.

As such, media relations takes the stage. There has been some discussion of holding a protest at Queen’s Park, but I don’t think that hook alone will be enough to generate and sustain the necessary interest to save this piece of our country’s heritage.

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