The Huron Expositor, 1983-07-27, Page 1sseLs Post
A00' tier
41.
SEAFQATH, °NTAM
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1 �$" . AAGEs
industry.
hires this week
A i ew industry, which will employ 15 to
2S people will begin manufacturing automo-
tive parts here next week. Hiring will be
completed this week.
The former Gay Lea building more
recently owned by L.H. Gray and Son of
Ridgetowri which has been vacant for
several'years was purchased by Oud-Boyce
Warehousing inc. Me new owners have a
three month lease guarantee from the
manufacturer, says Ken `Thompson, who
sold the building for Gardiner Real Estate in
Goderich.
"After the three months, it will be leased
from month to month but it is expected to be
permanent if everything goes according to
plan," says Mr. Thompson. "The company
is far behind in the manufacture of auto
parts in Michigan. They had to move to
another plant. It's a catch-up situation."
"We received word that our building is
leased to Spejan Consultants Inc., a Toronto
company, to make automotive parts," says
Peter Oud, RR3, Kippen. Equipment will
be.installed this week so operations can start
next week."
"We were impressed with the building
and the location in Seaforth. In the next two
weeks, it will be painted. It's a short term
lease but it looks like it will turn into a long
term arrangement. It's better than having an
empty building. I'm quite happy for
Seaforth."
Built as an egg grading station, the 9200
square foot building is located at 198 Main
Street, Seaforth.
"We want to give the company all the
support we can,' says Alf Ross, Seaforth
mayor. "it will definitely be a benefit to the
town. I'm really pleased."
Although details were still sketchy at
press time, Mr. Ross hoped to meet with
company representatives Tuesday. National
news reports this week said car sales are up
38 per cent and that parts cannot be
produced fast enough.
Two men charged
in MainSf. break-in
Two men from Mitchell have been
arrested and charged with break-ins at Box
Furniture and Tasty -Nu Bakery and Cheese
House in Seaforth on July 20.
Donald Albert McCulligh, 18 and David
Todd Irving, 18, were charged the next day in
Mitchell with stealing $680 in goods a tt'dcash
from Box Furniture and $260 in cash from
Tasty -Nu Bakery. The windows of both stores
were lifted out of the window frames with a
screwdriver, says Hal Claus, Seaforth police
chief,
:*r
Mitchell police and the Ontario Provincial
Police also charged the pair with a number of
break and enters in Mitchell and the outlying
areas.
The two were released after promising to
appear in court in Goderich on Aug. 8.
-Seaforth police were notified on July 15
that Douglas Fry. of Stratford paid a $I28 fine
for careless driving and Bruce Skinner, of
Mitchell paid a 528 fine for failure to report an
accident. Both incidents happened in Sea -
forth. --
=ACRES of wheat was lost in a fire, presumably caused
by fa.spark from a combine, Tuesday afternoon. The
Seaforth fire department was called to the farm of Walter
McClure, lot 33, concession five, McKillop township, and
the blaze was brought under control in half an hour. At
times, firemen found It hard to control the fire In gusty wind
conditions. Several neighbours assisted, moving wheat
with pitch forks and tractors. "The fire sure can take the '
wheat off faster than I can," said Mr. McClure.
(Photo by Wassink)
More interest in old school site than in building
The old Seaforth Public School, built from
1867 to 1874, is for sale. Praised by experts as
a fine and rare 'example of early Ontario
public buildings, the school is attracting
prospective buyers because of the site, rather
than the building.
The price. 537,500, is a good one for a
building and three potential lots, says Henry
Mero of Workman Real Estate, who listed it
about a month ago. While there's been a lot of
interest, st some of it local property, to the
only
one inquiry proposed restoring the old
building. The owners are „Genesco of Canada,
in care of the trustees for the employee
retirement fund.
The site, however, is "very saleable", Mr.
Mero says. He doesn't think the old school.
used for storage from 1953 to 1979 can be
salvaged.
SALVAGEE_THEIIIiCK
The old bricks and timber in th large
building mean a buyer could "get it taken
down for what's in it."
Longtime member of Seaforth's Local
Architectural Conservation Advisory Com•
mittee, (LACAC), Walter Armes. says t e old
school could be recycled, -gutted inside and
modern apartments built inside the restored
exterior, for about the cost of a brand new
apartment building, "The big problem is
finding someone- clever- enough, with 4the
imagination to do it." He cautions that the
- apartments might be expensive. "In Toronto
it would be just beautiful,"
The land is zoned R2, general reslential,
which would allow an apartment building.
'there's a shortage of apartments in town
now, "we could use about 20 of them", says
real estate agent Mero, He has calculated
that a new 30 -unit 2'/: storey building could
be built on the old SPS site.
Mr. Armes and former LACAC chairper-
son. Winn McLean, both remember that
LACAC wrote Genesco in the late 70s about
having the old school designated. The
company wasn't interested but said LACAC
would be notified if the building came on the
market. Although LACAC Sept. 1978
minutes at the town hall say the letter from
Genesco was read and discussed. the letter
itself can't be found.
The old school, recorded in the Canadian
Inventory of Historic Buildings, got special
attention in May 1978 when 120 members of
the Society for the Study of Architecture in
Canada toured Seaforth. The praise the.old
school got meant local tittple took&aliotft l
look at what had been taken for granted as a
shoe warehouse.
Seaforth council was approached by
citizens F.C.J. Sills, Paul Carroll, Nancy
Larone and W.J: Teall about the school's
future in 1979 when Genesco stoppedusing it
for storage. "Hundreds of former pupils
would hate to sec it fall to the wrecker's
hammer," said ex-Scaforthite Harry Hinch-
ley in a letter to the Expositor back then.
NEW SCHOOL BUILT
When use as a school ended in 1953, with
the opening of the present SPS, trustees of
the town school board called tenders to
demolish the building and buy five lots.
(Genesco sold One lot from the property in
1955 and the town sold another in 1954).
Then it was discovered that any proceeds
from the sale couldn't be used to lower
education taxes. The department of educa-
tion would simply cut its grant to Seaforth by
whatever sum the old school sale raised. The
only way Seaforth people could benefit would
he 'f the town sold the property.
44fter., es of negotiations ,and some
y�''"(fickerin een the board and council, the
local trustees gave the property to the town.
The town in turn agreed to build sidewalks to
the new school on Market St.. The gift wasn't
finalized until late Dec. 1953, when the town
had a firm offer from Seaforth Shoes Ltd. of
55000.
By moving storage
intotheold ch
I Fred
Peel of the shoe factory expex la e .
athere
t
H�would be room for expansion n Omore
jobs at the S. Main St. plant.
During council discussions in 1953, the
mayor suggested putting a condition on the
sale giving the town first option to buy in the
event of any resale. Seaforth had no zoning
regulations then, and some councillors felt
resale to heavy industry would "reduce the
value of adjacent property."
CONDITION
"You'd be eliminating fly-by-night outfits
or shysters," said then mayor, E.A. Mc-
Master.
SCHOOL FOR SALE—The old Seaforth Public School, built in four sections between 1867
and 1874, is for sale at $37,500 The site has three building lots and real estate agent Henry
Mero says all prospective buyers but one have been interested in the land. not the building.
According to historian Belle Campbell, Seaforth had 592 children between five and 16 years
of age In 1874, when SPS was the only school in town. Seven teachers were on staff. The first
high school opened in 1879, and St James' Separate School in 1902 (WassIryt' oto)
However, no condition was attached to the
sale in council's motion, bylaw or the deed. In
an editorial at the time, the Expositor
suggested that the sale, price, should be at
least .egital td the- highest^ tender-dieselt6dt
board had received. Make sure too, the paper
cautioned, that the sale won't blight the area
with some future inappropriate use.
A few years ago, council tried to get the
OntaricrHousing Corporation and the Ontario
Heritage Foundation (OH) interested in
making the old school into senior citizen
housing, says Betty Cardno, Seaforth mayor
from 1974-78. That was unsuccessful but
Mrs. Cardno says there is money available
under BRIC, for municipal or private
recycling of old buildings.
The town could take out an option on the
school while a feasibility study is done, she
suggests. Council could take a look at housing
needs here and put together a package that
would include building apartments inside the
old facade.
NO INTEREST •
While converting the old school for
apartments is possible, PaulCarroll says "if
there isn't any sign of local interest then there
isn't any hope of preservation."
Council and LACAC could look for a
heritage and public minded buyer he
suggests, and offer to support a private
buyer's application for filtIC er OAF money
--"fob-reidestgra4licAtltetilbr AWItatore- the
outside. "The red tape required for restora-
tion is an automatic handicap against
preservation. Council's ibitiative could per-
haps turn that liability into a financial asset
for a potential buyer. It's unfortunate that the
building is not officially designated."
"What would it be used for?" is mayor Alf
Ross's response to any proposal to keep the
old school. A new apartment complex inside
the old walls is "a good idea but would it be
economically feasible?" "If you had to bridge
the infrastructure it would be more costly."
Seaforth native and director of the
premier's office, Clare Westcott is an
admirer of the old school. One of his photos
of it is in his current show at the US
Consulate in Toronto. "If he'll fund us. we'll
' restore it." the mayor jokes.
"Anything would be an improvement," to
the empty building sitting now," he adds.
However, mayor Ross said he wouldn't like to
see any condition on the building's sale. "We
could still end up with a derelict building."
Tuckersmith taxes
increase 14 per cent
BY WILMA OKE
Tuckersmith Township ratepayer§ face an
increase of 14 per cent in property taxes this
year. according to clerk -treasurer Jack
McLachlan.
He said a public school supporter with an
average residential assessment of $2.500
will be paying 5535, up $67 over last yeary-A
separate school supporter with the same
assessment will pay $538, also up 567.
The total budget amounts to $1.375,931 up
$102,595 this year over expenditures of
51,273,336 in 1982. It includes 5285.971 for
township operations. 5460.470 for the Huron
County board of education levy. $43,608 for
the Huron -Perth County separate school
board and 5166,557 for .the Huron County
levy. Included in the budget also is a deficit
from 1982 of 563,000.
The county and the education levies all
increased about 10 per cent this year.
The township plans to spend $58.200 for
fire protection (spent 535,034 last year);
5436,500 for roadways (spent $359.566 last
year); day care -4118,537 (5107102); Van-
astra recreation centre 5175,342 (5171.651 in
1982); Egmondville water, 55.500 (52,541 in
1982); Brucefield water 56,500 (56,409 in
1982); and Vanastra water 5157.559
(5140,271 in 1982).
Asked to comment on the budget Reeve
Robert Bell said, "We have spent a lot of
time and discussion on the budget. trying to
hold it at 14 ' per cent." Deputy Reeve
William Brown said, "I would like to see it a
lot lower but there was no, way we could get
it any lower."
VOTED AGAINST
Councillor John Brownridge said he voted
against the budget because he thought
council had not fully investigated potential
cost reductions. "We may have to look at
areas to cut out services or to cut down to
keep the taxes livable for this area."
Mr. Brownridge said he was "particularly
concerned about a 19 per cent increase in
Vanastra due to the rise in urban service
charges for such things as water' and
sewage.
In other business council opened the
tenders for the new bridge to be built on the
Roman Line. The tender of Weitzel
Construction of Stratford for 568,875.90 was
accepted. it was one of six tenders. "
The report on the Dill Drain was read and
(Continued on page three)
Gadd @
Quebec kick visit /A3
Creamery wins
New minister no longer
takes Canada for granted /A11
Woman mechanic in
tournament /A8
demolition derby /A18
Births /A13
Brussels news /A14, 15
Classified /A16, 17
Community Calendar /A6
Dublin news /A4, 5
Entertainment /A7
Family 1A6, 19
Farm /A10
Hensall news /Al2, 13
Kids /A11
Londesboro /A3
Obituaries /A5
People /AT`
Smiley /A18
So/nothing to Say /A2
Sports /A8, 9