A pair of important historical landmarks could be demolished due to a lack of funding.

The Prince Albert Historical Society has asked city council for $10,000 in the 2018 budget to demolish The Nisbet Church and the accompanying blockhouse. Both buildings are close to 150 years old.

Historical Society manager and curator Michelle Taylor said the society doesn’t want to demolish the buildings, but given their limited finances, they don’t have many other options.

“The society doesn’t want to see them go, but we don’t know what else to do,” she said.

An engineering assessment performed last spring showed roughly $750,000 of work that needs to be done on the buildings to keep them from collapsing. Taylor said the society doesn’t have the funds to sink into a project that expensive, and moving them is out of the question because of their dilapidated state. Neither building is eligible for Heritage Site status because they were both moved from their original location.

“Our hope was if it wasn’t going to cost that much that we could move the buildings down closer to the museum and (use) them properly,” Taylor said. “We talked about it at Historical Society Meetings and, reluctantly, this is what’ve come up with.”

Taylor said museums across the province are facing a similar struggle to pay for the upkeep of their collections. She’s skeptical that the city will be able to pay for such a project, and so far no private citizens have come forward to offer financial support. However, she’s hopeful that residents will at least take an interest in the issue. Right now, she’s not sure everyone understands the significance of the two buildings, or what is required to keep them standing.

“I think this line item now will open up dialogue between the city and the Historical Society and the residents about what they want to see done,” she said.

Taylor added that they would try to demolish the buildings in such a way as to allow them to keep some sections for a permanent university display.

One citizen who does have interest in the issue is local seniors’ advocate John Fryters.

Fryters said it’s upsetting to see an important piece of the city’s history in danger, and dismissed concerns that the city could not fund the needed repairs.

“City council just gave $700,000 to establish a brand new hotel in Prince Albert,” he said. “If they can come out with a free grant of $700,000, they certainly can come up with $750,000 to keep the only remaining … piece of heritage which links the City of Prince Albert to the past.”

Fryters added that he hasn’t started a campaign, petition or financial drive to keep the buildings up, but it’s something he is considering in the future.

The Reverend James Nisbet originally built Nisbet Church and school in 1872. According to the Prince Albert Historical Society, it is the second oldest church in Saskatchewan, and the oldest school between the Red River and the Alberta foothills.

The blockhouse was originally built by Archie Ballantine as a stable for Prince Albert’s first lawyer. It was converted into a blockhouse, which was used for the city’s defence, during the Northwest Rebellion.

Both buildings were moved to their present locations in Kinsmen Park in the early 1930s.

City council members are considering a few changes to the Neighbourhood Ward Meeting projects that were held across the city throughout the past few years.

The meetings gave residents the opportunity to voice their concerns to department heads and the city’s elected officials.

While city administrators say the meetings, which were held three times in each ward, were successful in helping them identify specific problems. However, they remain worried about “meeting fatigue.”

In a proposal presented during Monday’s executive committee meeting, city planning director Craig Guidinger suggested they move away from the ward based meeting schedule to a project-based system. The proposal would see fewer regularly scheduled meetings unless there was a particular idea up for debate.

Guidinger said meetings were well attended, although numbers started to decrease as they went on.

“Even over the course of those three meetings, attendance fell off a little bit, but there was certainly some dedicated individuals who showed up from each ward and provided some great dialogue,” he explained. “I do not want to minimize that. What we’re proposing is a staggered approach.”

Under the new proposal, ward meetings would be held every two to four years, instead of every year. Guidinger said that would help administrators get crucial feedback without burning everyone out. He also suggested the city utilize online tools to help keep residents informed about new developments.

Although they were sympathetic to the idea, most city councillors rejected it, instead asking to stay with a regular meeting schedule.

“I really believe that it’s important to have these general meetings for discussion to keep people engaged,” Ward 6 Coun. Blake Edwards said. “I know we have a lot of online information and surveys, but not all people are on there. This gives a chance for those to come out and voice their opinions, to have the directors there and answer some direct questions.”

“I’m not sure we get there with a project based approach, because, quite often, the phone calls and chats I have are with the residents that are about what’s going on in front of my house, what’s going on down the street,” Ward 8 Coun. Ted Zurakowski added. “They have nothing to do with projects.”

Both Zurakowski and Edwards added that they appreciated having city administrators come out to the meetings and answer questions face-to-face. They said direct feedback from city department heads helps bring clarity to many issues residents face.

Councillors Dennis Nowoselsky, Evert Botha Terra Lennox-Zepp and Dennis Nowoselsky were also vocal proponents of continuing yearly ward meetings. Nowoselsky even put forward a new motion that would see them continue yearly, although nearby wards would likely partner together to hold joint meetings. The proposal would also allow for open sessions if administrators decide to go the project-based route.

The proposal passed and will be headed to a regular council meeting for approval.

After one year of debate, Jarica Gooding found herself thrown into the deep end of the talent pool.

Gooding, a Grade 10 student at Carlton Comprehensive High School, was one of seven debaters representing Saskatchewan at the Canadian Student Debate Federation (CSDF) National Seminar in Ontario.

The experience was a challenging one for Gooding, who only started debating a year ago, but one she was thrilled to have.

“We thought the people coming there would only have one year of experience, and had to be previous novice (debaters),” she chuckled. “A couple of days into it, they’re like, ‘I’ve had seven years of experience and I speak four different languages,’ and I’m like, ‘what, excuse me?’”

Held annually, the CSDF National Seminar attracts roughly 100 English, French and bilingual student debaters from across the country.. Representatives from the Saskatchewan Elocution and Debate Association (SEDA) typically only have one or two years of experience, but many their fellow attendees from other provinces started debating in elementary school.

However, rather than being overwhelmed, Gooding said the intensity created an incredible atmosphere and a great opportunity to learn.

“I kind of felt out of place, and I was thinking at the end, ‘man, I’m so behind,’ but I talked to Melissa (SEDA executive director Melissa Ong) and she told me it’s never too late to start. Everyone is so welcoming and everyone is so friendly and they accept you so much, even though I probably wasn’t the greatest speaker.”

The four-day seminar consisted of a series of workshops, scheduled debates and a mock parliamentary session. The list of debate topics included things like eliminating college tuition, holding sports teams liable when their players suffer serious brain injuries and holding a referendum on electoral reform.

Gooding said there were some heated and heavy debates, but left impressed with the level of respect and friendship each debater showed to their opponents.

“You’re arguing a topic, but you learn how to state your points well and argue well, but not close yourself off from other possibilities. You learn how to respond to things other people bring up, and take things into consideration respectfully. I think that it’s just very important to have those kinds of skills in life.”

Although the seminar ended in mid-October, the time spent there is already paying dividends. In Gooding’s first open competition debate a week later, she placed second in the northern team standings with her partner from Saskatoon. She also finished second to last year’s provincial champion in the northern individual category.

Her goal now is to take you newly honed skills and recruit more members for the debate team at Carlton. Although the school has fielded provincial winning debate teams in past years, there numbers have dropped recently.

Gooding said they have a great debate program at Carlton, and a great coach in Michael Fahie. She just wants to help give them a bit of an extra boost.

“There’s a bit of interest, but nobody has found a partner and registered,” she said. “I want people to know that at Carlton, it’s not just sports and PAA (practical and applied arts). They have that, and it’s great, but we have so many more opportunities that are underplayed.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca