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"Coun. Ron Gerow had one request just before Peterborough County councillors decided Wednesday to demolish much of the old county jail: “that the ghosts all be relocated.”
All joking aside, council voted in favour of a four-pronged plan that deemed the historic jail property derelict, unsafe and surplus and authorized staff to proceed with the tendering process to demolish parts of the jail building and exterior wall.
Funds for the estimated $450,000 project will be drawn from a $500,000 property reserve created just minutes prior to the vote when councillors approved a year-end restructuring plan that included the consolidation of 22 county reserves.
County director of corporate projects and services Sheridan Graham pointed out the jail would be a “tough decision” for council, but a necessary one given the $10,000 annual cost of maintenance and the estimated $2 to $3 million needed to refurbish the cell block.
The jail has been closed since being destroyed in a 2001 riot in which “12 inmates basically ripped it apart,” Graham told councillors, of whom she led on a tour of the facility - including the core block and add-on structures where young offenders were held - on May 27.
A timeline for the demolition has not been established, but Graham told councillors that staff want to move quickly because of “very severe roof structure issues” with some of the deterioriating attached portable add-on structures.
Fortunately, most provincial prisons were constructed during the same time period, so similar jails exist across rural Ontario, Graham said.
“It's not a unique facility by any means,” she said, pointing out that there are occasional tours through the former jail, but very limited revenue associated with that.
The former jail was built in 1865, 25 years after the court house itself was completed. Thousands of prisoners passed through the jail over close to a century and a half and many of them never left – the jail was where local hangings were carried out. Edward “Stonewall” Jackson was the last person hanged in Peterborough County in 1933.
Examiner history columnist Andrew Elliott wrote about the jail's dark history in 2008.
The decision to raze the former jail structures came after a brief debate in which Coun. Bev Matthews spoke against the plan. She said she was impressed by the tour and agrees the additions should be razed, but that the core cell block should be preserved.
“I think it's something we should try to keep ... It's certainly a reminder of the way things were,” she said. “It's history. I don't think we should tear it down.”
Matthews asked if it would be possible to cut down on costs but not heating the facility, but Graham said the facility would have to be heated and ventilated to avoid mould issues.
Coun. Joe Taylor said a decision on the matter was due, just before councillors voted in support of the demolition plan.
The final point of the plan approved by councillors was to sent a letter on behalf of council to the Peterborough Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee regarding the jail property.
After briefly addressing two other items on the agenda, council then made another decision that could significantly impact the demolition project.
Staff recommended two projects for which the county will apply for funding for through the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, which is offering $150 million over two years to support the rehabilitation, renovation and expansion of existing community infrastructure.
Some $44.4 million of that will be allocated to southern Ontario through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
Staff recommended the jail demolition, which would be identified as a heritage preservation and significant cultural and community project, as one option, and the estimated $450,000 rehabilitation of the lower Buckhorn and Trent Canal bridges as the other.
Councillors voted in favour of submitting an application for the jail demolition after a brief debate.
Coun. Mary Smith pointed out that it seemed like the plan went against the preservation the funding aims to support, but Graham noted the site would be commemorated, such as with a placque, so the history would be preserved.
The director later jokingly referred to the plan as a “site rehabilitation project.”
Responding to a suggestion that a cell, or part of a cell be kept as a monument, Graham said staff would be working with architects to do that and this would be reflected in the application.
Smith pointed out that doing so would be a great opportunity to educate the public of the historical value of the site, including the jail's history.
CEO Gary King said there is no guarantee either application would be successful."
From the Peterborough Examiner...
http://www.thepete...l-to-be-demolished
