{"id":24701,"date":"2016-12-16T09:05:48","date_gmt":"2016-12-16T14:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=24701"},"modified":"2016-12-16T12:31:06","modified_gmt":"2016-12-16T17:31:06","slug":"fate-historic-madill-church-still-unknown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/fate-historic-madill-church-still-unknown\/","title":{"rendered":"Fate of historic Madill Church still unknown"},"content":{"rendered":"

With files from Tamara de la Vega<\/em><\/p>\n

The poor condition of one of Huntsville’s oldest buildings, Madill Church, came to light in August of this year but it’s still not known with certainty what action its owners, Living Waters Presbytery of the United Church of Canada, intend to take.<\/p>\n

At that time, the local trustees of the church said that the presbytery had “informed us that they are giving us permission to proceed with demolition unless the town of Huntsville is willing to take it over.” The Town had not received – and has still not received – an application for demolition, as is required for a building denoted as a property of heritage interest.<\/p>\n

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At the Municipal Heritage Committee meeting earlier this month, the Town’s Manager of Arts, Culture and Heritage, Teri Souter, presented a report to inform the committee on the current status of the building.<\/p>\n

Souter’s report states that the church \u2013 which was built in 1873 \u2013 has visible holes and rot and is leaning. A report that was gifted to the trustees by a member of the public regarding the repairs needed, including an initial estimate of the cost of repairs at $300,000, has not been reviewed by Town staff, said Souter.<\/p>\n

Souter along with the Chair of the Municipal Heritage Committee, Councillor Jason Fitzgerald, met with members of the Madill Church board of trustees twice in October, including a site visit. They discussed possible options for the church, including crowd-sourced funding via social media, potential funding programs, the potential for in-kind donations from concerned citizens, selling it to a private party, and moving it to Muskoka Heritage Place’s Pioneer Village, although the village already has a church from the same time period and that effort would be costly. There are also concerns about the structure’s ability to withstand a heavy snow load during a harsh winter.<\/p>\n

All agreed that the building has historical significance, and investigation into how to preserve it is a worthwhile endeavour.<\/p>\n\n\t\t