East Gwillimbury silo not going down just yet

YorkRegion.com
Sept. 26, 2016
Simon Martin

Just when you thought the silo next to the East Gwillimbury Civic Centre was coming down, it appears to have a second wind.

Two weeks after he voted to demolish the structure at a committee of whole meeting, Councillor Joe Persechini switched his vote at council joining Mayor Virginia Hackson and Councillor Tara Roy-DiClemente in seeing if the historic structure can be maintained.

“I’m not flip-flopping,” Persechini said. “If (the silo) is not going to be utilized, yes, we should still tear it down. I’m waiting to see the plan.”

Council passed a resolution to protect the silo from deterioration and investigate possible future uses as part of the Civic Centre precinct.  The minor repairs were estimated at $5,000 by town staff as council waits to hear about what a future use for the structure could be.

East Gwillimbury council had previously voted 3-2 Sept. 7 against the heritage committee’s recommendation of keeping the historical silo, citing cost concerns.

Council had to choose between spending $20,000 to restore masonry and install a wood-shake roof, spend $12,500 to demolish it or $5,000 for minor repairs.

“It’s not feasible for it to remain there,” Councillor James Young said.

 “There doesn’t seem to be any particular use for it.”

Young was not alone in his ambivalence toward the silo. Councillor Marlene Johnston said the town was going to remove the house and the silo to expand the Civic Centre when it bought the property.

“The fact the main home has been restored is far more than I imagined when we got the property,” she said.

The house  and silo are directly associated with the Judah Doan family, members of the Children of Peace, who built the Sharon Temple, and members of the Sons of Temperance, who built the Sharon Hall.

Mayor Virginia Hackson said she would prefer to make minor repairs rather than remove it and Councillor Tara Roy-DiClemente voiced her disappointment with decision.

"If we don’t, as a town, invest in heritage facilities, how can we expect others in the community to do so,” she said.

The town’s heritage committee had recommended earlier this year that the town keep the structure for its heritage significance.

The money for repairs to the silo will come from the Sharon West Developer Group, which contributed $750,000 toward the renovation of 19040 Leslie St. Total expenditures to date are approximately $405,000, leaving approximately $345,000 in available funding.

The council decision has been more than a year in the making. Staff brought forward a motion to fix the crumbling silo for $17,000 last summer. Council asked staff to report back with more information about the structure and with different options, including removal.

The public certainly wasn’t shy about voicing their opinion on the matter at the time. “The silo has no functional or cultural value, so tear it down, please. There are far better ways to spend taxpayer dollars,” reader James Crysdale said.

Jim McGuckin was more succinct. “Tear it down,” he said.