Villagers committed to saving the Vittoria town hall say they’re willing to roll up their sleeves to bring the historic building back into good repair.
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A question of how many have the time and are willing to put the energy into restoring the hall, was asked by Dan Fewings as he addressed a crowd gathered in the Norfolk County council chamber in Simcoe on Monday evening. They responded with enthusiastic applause.
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“Let’s hear one for the town hall,” called Fewings, followed by more clapping.
It was a decidedly subdued gathering compared to a meeting held last November when close to 300 people packed the community center in the village of Vittoria to confront municipal staff over rumored plans to sell the village’s town hall, and to vent their frustration over Norfolk County’s alleged neglect of a provincially designated heritage building.
About 50 people turned up in the council chamber on Monday for the second public meeting meant to gather “ideas and feedback,” to help Norfolk councilors determine the fate of the town hall.
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“No decisions about the future of the hall have been made,” Heidi Van Dyk, Norfolk’s general manager of corporate services, told the crowd.
She said the public input gathered at the meetings will be included in a staff report that will come to Norfolk council sometime in the summer.
The historic Vittoria hall, which dates back to 1870, was a gathering place for seniors’ club dinners, yoga, Zuma sessions, meetings and Christmas festivities.
It has been closed for the past four years, with county staff saying it needs extensive repair. Last year, an engineering firm that specializes in restoring heritage buildings estimated the cost of the most critical repairs at $825,000 if the work was carried out immediately. Putting off the project until 2025 would likely push the cost to over $1 million, while doing the work piecemeal, as money is available, would make the project even more expensive, Michael Simoes, Norfolk’s facilities director, said at the November meeting.
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Dion Klitzke, who grew up in Vittoria and attended Sunday school at the town hall, said the building is the “centrepiece of the community.” He said he came to Monday’s meeting to ask questions, including whether there had been a budget for maintenance of the building and, if so, where that money is now.
“I know people would donate their time and effort,” said Klitzke, who feels the estimate for repairs is too high. “If each of us bought one board we could fix the front porch.”
Gertrude Smith said supporters of saving the town hall “understand the financial stress on the county and that difficult decisions have to be made” but told Norfolk staff present at the meeting that repairs “don’t have to be finished all at once.”
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Robert Judd pointed to the successful restoration of the Waterford town hall. The Old Town Hall Association, a private, non-profit corporation and registered charity, was formed in 1999 to restore the former Waterford and Townsend Township Town Hall, which dates back to 1902, purchasing it from the City of Nanticoke in 2000. Funds to sustain it are raised through special interest programs, music concerts, theater productions, a used bookstore, grants, and room rentals.
“It’s the most successful thing going in town,” said Judd, suggesting the “same blueprint” could be used for the Vittoria hall.
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