A new vision emerges

Working group propose new uses for Picton Town Hall

In January of this year an ad hoc group arranged a meeting at the Picton Town Hall to seek ideas for new uses of the building as a means of keeping it as a viable public space. The future of the building was, and still remains, in doubt after the main floor fire hall was vacated following the construction of a new facility on McDonald Drive. Council had proposed that the building be declared surplus and sold. The resulting outcry over the possible loss of the building as a public space led to the formation of the Save the Town Hall Working Group. The initial meeting attracted over 50 people, and the Working Group was given numerous ideas for new uses for the hall as well as a strong indication to maintain the present uses. Since that time, members of the Working Group have been meeting bi-weekly to formulate a plan to keep the building as a public space. On Saturday afternoon, the group held a public meeting at the Town Hall to present its initial strategic plan and to solicit comments on the plan. The meeting was once again well attended, with 50 people present. There were a number of candidates for council in attendance, but the majority of people were current users of the hall.

Members of the Save Picton Town Hall Working Group (L-R): Bev Campbell, Duncan Moore, Lynn Rochon, Lenny Epstein, Leslie Smail-Persaud and Sarah Moran.

The group obtained a grant from SPARC (Supporting Performing Arts in Rural and Remote Communities) to create a strategic plan for the building. “A strategic plan is a really important part,” says group member Sarah Moran, “It’s the foundation for a strong proposal back to council, and if we are going to apply for any more grant funding, we need a strategic plan to be able to do that.” The working group completed an Expression of Interest (EoI) to submit to council and then sought out community partners interested in using the town hall. Chief among these partners is the Prince Edward Learning Centre (PELC), which has committed to using the lower-level space in the building. The Regent Theatre, County Library and the Arts Council have also lent their support and expressed interest in using space in a renovated lower level.

Of primary importance was the need to keep the upper level as a low-cost public space for its current users as well as attracting new users to the space. The goal is to run the entire hall as a revenue-neutral entity. To that end, the lower level is considered to be the revenue-generating engine. In addition, the group is looking for third-party support to re-establish a farmers’ market in the outside area. “It’s a use that’s rooted in the hall’s history, since the lot was donated … by Walter Ross in 1866 for the use of Picton residents for the purpose of a farmers’ market and a hall,” says Moran. “It is imperative that this farmers’ market is managed by an experienced third party, someone who can promote it and guide it to success. Even though it’s revenue-neutral, it can have a huge benefit by drawing people downtown. You can see what’s going on in Wellington—it’s extremely effective.”

The presentation took about 30 minutes and was followed by a spirited discussion session that lasted over an hour. At this time the working group is unaware if they will have to compete with a private buyer for the building. While the general feeling is that council will likely insist on retaining some public access if the building is sold to a private entity, that outcome is not assured. Greg Sorbara raised the question about whether the exterior building will be maintained to preserve its heritage status. “Heritage renovations are expensive,” he says. He questioned whether council would accept this expense or whether it would prefer the private sector to step in. For the most part, however, the people attending were supportive of the working group’s efforts to keep the hall as a public space. The group will now take the comments provided at the meeting and write an EoI proposal to Shire Hall, submitting it to council by November 26. A decision is not expected until December, but that too is uncertain, with a new council taking its place around the horseshoe. During the meeting, Moran read from an email that reflected the feelings of many of the Hall’s supporters: “Whenever we lose a valuable public space, it is gone forever. In the case of our Town Hall, it would leave a gap that would take generations to fix. It would be a tragedy to lose it, there is no other space in Picton that can fill its footprint.”

For more information, visit savepictontownhall. ca