Port Hope Council met in a Special Council meeting on Wednesday night to a full house in the Council Chambers and some even in the hallway outside of the
chamber.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the staff report prepared by Theodhora Merepeza on the stakeholder meeting held on Friday at the Development offices on Mill Street to see if they could come up with a solution to how the old second hospital location at 65 Ward Street could be incorporated into the proposed redevelopment of the property which would increase the number of Long Term Care beds from the current 97 to 160.
It was apparent from this report that there was unlikely to be any movement among the parties unfortunately – due to both the ACO Port Hope branch and Heritage Port Hope not understanding the strict requirements of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care for new and redevelopment properties and the proponent Southbridge Care Homes Inc lack of knowledge about the heritage and cultural significance of the property.
Council debated the issue for over an hour. Some concerns raised by Councillors included the reference to the historical aspect of the Municipality in the Community Strategic Plan, the offer to turn over the Administration House ( the original hospital ) which would require the Municipality to remove it from the property and move it elsewhere; this option would probably lead to its demolition, what would be the long-term effect of saving the second hospital building and its benefit to the community as a whole, as well as the
need to take the emotional issues out of the discussion.
In the end, Council unanimously passed the following motion:
That pursuant to Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, the clerk be directed to publish a Notice of Intention to designate the property municipally addressed as 65 Ward Street, as being of cultural heritage value of interest; and further That a by-law to designate 65 Ward Street be prepared for presentation to Council following the 30-day notice required by the Ontario Heritage Act.
During this 30-day period, the public can comment on the proposed designation.
