One small step

An A1 Excavating backhoe operator hammers out the decaying landing at Hillier Hall.

Project underway to replace Hillier Hall landing

Faded photographs show women in Saturday night finery stepping carefully from horse drawn carriages directly onto a level wooden landing leading to the front door of the Hillier Hall. A gas light lamppost provided illumination when the sun slipped below the horizon.

In time, the wooden landing was replaced by concrete—maintaining the carriage height access. Over the decades horse drawn carriages gave way to cars, and the landing served as a promontory for musicians, like Len Smith, or a perch upon which to simply watch the traffic go by.

In recent years the footings underpinning the landing have eroded. A few years ago WI member and former Hillier councillor, Peggy Burris, developed plans to replace the steps, but the costs proved to be beyond the reach of the service organization. After all, they had just raised funds and overseen a project to renovate the washrooms and main entrance to improve accessibility.

Plans to fix the front landing were dropped.

Lately, Hillier Rec has been reenergized and is using the Hall for more and varied events. The Women’s Institute, too, meet at least once a month and host district meetings a couple times a year. For three days each fall, members of the WI toil in the Hillier Hall kitchen to prepare hundreds of apple dumplings that typically sell out to avid fans at Pumpkinfest. Next year the Hillier WI is turning 100 and the hall will be the focal point for celebrations.

Both groups decided to take another look at the steps.

Overlooking progress on the 1867 Confederation year Hillier Hall steps are, left to right, Hillier Recreation Committee Chairperson Jane ( J.A.) Macdonald—no relation to our first Prime Minister—and Catherine Sutherland, Chair person of the Hillier Women’s Institute.

“The steps were becoming a safety hazard,” explained Conrad Beaubien of the Hillier Recreation Committee. “It also did not create a great image.”

Catherine Sutherland, president of the Hillier WI, echoed Beaubien’s concerns.

“It was all eaten around underneath— it would soon need to be condemned,” explained Sutherland. “We are essentially just replacing it—ensuring it doesn’t collapse under anybody.”

This time, however, they are taking a different approach. With the support and oversight by the County’s Parks manager, Andrew Morton, the Rec committee and the WI are spearheading the project. The design and engineering has been contributed by resident Bill Hurst. The work is being done by a local contractor. The total project cost is calculated to come in at about a third of the municipality’s estimate three years a ago.

The WI and the Hillier Rec are anticipating County council will agree to pick up a third of the cost of the repair in next year’s municipal budget. It is, after all, the municipality’s building.

It has been clear for years, however, that the County needed a different model to fund and maintain its more than 80 buildings and 120 properties. The municipality doesn’t have the tax base to support all these structures. Worse, it has no money set aside for their repair or maintenance, like fixing unsafe steps.

Town and community halls came into sharp focus last year when cost-cutting measures suggested some might have to be sold. This prospect prompted many groups and individuals to rally in support of their community buildings. This in turn has prompted different thinking about these structures—with community members assuming greater ownership over their care and operation.

It is an approach that makes sense to Beaubien. The Hillier Recreation Committee and Hillier WI use the building the most. They know it well—know what it needs. They know, too, the folks with the skills and capability to draw upon to accomplish certain tasks cost effectively.

Local contractors and designers also start with a sense of how important these places are in terms of heritage, tradition and community identity. They live in the community and it matters in a way that is hard to obtain in a threetender municipal procurement process.

Beaubien gives high marks to the County’s Andrew Morton for his supervision and guidance along the way. Everyone understands they are creating a bit of a new model about how we care for our community buildings—and everyone is keen to get it right.

“Andrew has been extremely responsive and co-operative in this effort,” said Beaubien. “He has been working hand-in-hand with us to make this work.”

Beaubien hopes to restore the Hillier Hall to its place as a centrepiece of the community. It is already a busy place but he would like to see the hall play an even more prominent role as a hub of the economic, tourism and community vitality of Hillier.

These are grand notions sparked by a simple replacement of a landing. Big ideas often begin with the first step.