By Cecilia Nasmith
In spite of adding perhaps $861,500 to the Northumberland County budget, council voted this week to proceed with the construction of the Golden Plough Lodge/Northumberland County Archives and Museum as originally envisioned.
This would make up for the loss of the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund grant the county had counted on for the museum-and-archives portion of the project. They have since learned no more money will be available from this source until March 2021.
Last month, Kaela Esseghaier appeared before county council to argue for proceeding with the project as originally planned, which she argued was the most cost-effective and least difficult option in the long run.
At the April meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Moore repeated some of those arguments – that the current location of the archives and museum was no longer adequate, and it was decided to include a new space in the Golden Plough Lodge redesign.
“We are required to go ahead with the GPL redevelopment, so we cannot make changes there,” Moore said.
Unfortunately, the CCSF people took much longer getting back to the county than hoped, with word received after the 2020 budget had been finalized.
To redesign the project to accommodate the GPL only incurs both time and costly delays. To proceed and then only partially complete the NCAM also incurs costly delays. All things considered, she summed up, the consensus among staff seems to be that it’s best to go with a 25-year debenture to help with the additional costs and otherwise proceed as planned.
Moore would not dismiss the possibility of applying to the fund next year with hopes of getting at least some money for things like interior finishes or shelving, but acknowledged it’s not a prospect they can hang their hopes on.
Sanderson acknowledged that willingly incurring an extra $800,000-plus might be a difficult sell when COVID-19 is kicking a dent in the county budget. Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander asked for specifics of costs that might otherwise be incurred if the NCAM is delayed.
Given accepted industry formulas on a $3-million project, the consultant said, costs resulting from the redrafting of the project, the delays in construction, and the additional project-management services could potentially approach $500,000.
“I feel very, very strongly about this as a Northumberland County native,” Cramahe Township Mayor Mandy Martin said.
“I have grown up throughout Northumberland County, and what this archives is – it’s the keeper of our history. It’s our record. It’s our annals. It’s what other municipalities have given in trust to have this history maintained. It’s not going to go away.
“This is a valuable building. This is who we are. This is our history. I think this pays off in dividends down the road, and has a life far beyond 25 years of building.
“The contents of an archives and what they contribute are what make us. I cannot emphasize how strongly I support this.”
Deputy Warden Bob Crate concurred.
“It’s an added cost to us right now,” Crate allowed.
“But I think when you spread it out over that period of time and look at the enormity of what we will have for the future residents of the county, it’s justified.”
