One of Morinville's oldest and most visible buildings will come crashing down now that town council has decided it's too expensive to restore Perras Place.
Town council voted unanimously in favour of demolishing Perras Place last week. Coun. Nicole Boutestein was absent but supported the demolition in an email, reported Mayor Lisa Holmes.
Perras Place is the 114-year-old home next to the Morinville Civic Hall. The birthplace of historian town resident Raymonde "Rip" Riopel as well as former town councillor Joseph H. Perras, the home is featured on the Morinville Historic Homes & Heroes Walking Tour and is one of the oldest homes in the community.
Council moved to pause the building's proposed demolition last November following an impassioned plea by Riopel's son, Paul, until they got more information on the cost to preserve it.
Town public works director Claude Valcourt told council that studies by AECOM Canada Ltd. found the building had many structural problems, including water damage, decaying window frames, poor attic ventilation and cracks in the foundation. He also noted that AECOM had not done a complete assessment, and that there may be other problems to fix.
"There are a lot of unknowns out there. That's the scary part."
Valcourt estimated that it would cost $50,000 to $75,000 to repair the building, assuming no additional problems were found. Upgrading it to a commercial use standard would cost $500,000. The town had budgeted $10,000 to demolish it.
Planning and economic development director Greg Hofmann said that it would not be possible to use the home as a residence if it was preserved as it was in a commercial district, the rezoning of which would not fit with the town's municipal development plan. He also noted that the building had undergone extensive modification over the years and was no longer in its original form.
Holmes acknowledged the case Paul Riopel made to preserve the home, saying that her family's historic home had once been levelled for a freeway, but said the cost was prohibitive. She suggested that the community plan a "goodbye" event where people could visit the home one last time before it was destroyed.
Town community and protective services director David Schaefer said in an interview that he would bring recommendations on such a "goodbye" event to this month's committee of the whole meeting, adding that the event would likely happen during the town's June festival. A date to demolish the home had not yet been set.
Town council says it hopes to work with Morinville businesses to clean up plastic bag waste.
Council got a report from Valcourt last week on plastic bag recycling.
Albertans used about 581 million plastic bags in 2013, Valcourt said. While this was down from 741 million in 2008, that meant there were still a lot of plastic bags making it to the landfill.
While some communities and stores in St. Albert offered plastic bag recycling, Morinville did not. The Morinville Sobeys planned to bring in such a service later this year.
Councillors voiced support for Valcourt's proposal to work with the town's Sobeys and No-Frills outlets to promote plastic bag recycling, with a view to creating a regional recycling program later.
