Battle over Parliament Oak property continues
The fight to try to convince District School Board of Niagara to sell its former Parliament Oak School property to the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is continuing as the call for bids closes Friday.
More than 200 Niagara-onthe-Lake residents held a rally at the King St. property in the Old Town last week to demand DSBN halt from selling it on the open market.
The Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Hub Group, an incorporated not-for-profit organization dedicated to securing the site for use by community groups, is appealing to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to block the sale of the 1.6-hectare property.
“We want a hub,” the crowd chanted as they formed a human chain around the building.
DSBN closed the 75-year-old school in 2015 and has rejected three offers by the town to purchase the property for a potential community hub for tenants such as arts and music groups, service organizations, preschool and youth groups and possibly the notfor-profit Royal Oak Community School.
Last month, school board trustees rejected an offer by the province to provide a facilitator between the town and DSBN to expedite a deal.
“We are showing our solidarity,” said Barbara Tranter, a filmmaker and local resident who organized the rally. “Parliament Oak is a valuable historic asset for our community and we want it preserved.”
Tranter said she and many others at the rally had attended the historic elementary school.
“It’s never too late to do the right thing,” she said, urging the school board to continue to work with the town and the province on a sale.
“It was amazing how many people came out at the last minute in what turned out to be a snow storm,” said Coun. Betty Disero, who attended the rally. “Their commitment to the community, and that site in particular, is inspiring.
“Council must somehow find a way to protect it for the community,” she said. “A third-party historical designation should be considered.”
Lord Mayor Pat Darte, Niagaraon-the-Lake regional Coun. Gary Burroughs and Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates were also at the rally.
Gates has raised the issue several times with the premier and Education Minister Mitzie Hunter at Queen’s Park and in meetings. He said Tuesday that he will continue to pressure the government this week to stop the sale and facilitate a deal between the town and the school board.
“I think everyone is quite frustrated with the school board, “said Gates. “The school board’s job is to educate children, not utilize lands.
“Parliament Oak could be an example of how community hubs could work, not just in Niagaraon-the-Lake, but across the province.”
In a news release dated Dec. 28, the community hub group noted that the provincial government supports the concept of turning former schools into hubs and they fear that the Parliament Oak site could be sold by DSBN “for inappropriate development.”
The town’s last offer to buy the property, which was above the asking price, was turned down by the school board last October.
At town council’s December committee-of-whole meeting, Darte read a letter from the chair of the DSBN, Dale Robinson, which said “after careful consideration, trustees took a unanimous vote to continue with the sale by tender.”
The letter also stated that the board wanted to allow all parties, including the town, “a fair opportunity to bid on the property.”
Councillors again discussed the property at an in-camera session following the December council meeting. They came out of the meeting with no report.
A special council meeting has been scheduled for Jan. 8 following the committee-of-the-whole meeting. The only item listed on the closed-session agenda is “specifically a property on King St.”
Proposed or pending acquisition or disposal of land is one of the issues that requires discussion by municipal councils in-camera.