Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society provides grassroots leadership and an inclusive process, with a voice for all community members, to ensure that our community grows and develops in a way that incorporates an environmental ethic, offers a range of housing and transportation choices, encourages a vibrant and cultural life and supports sustainable, meaningful employment and business opportunities.
Just cause it is old doesn't mean it should be saved. What value does this building provide to the city? Further IF it gets salvaged I sure hope there is ZERO cost to taxpayers!
ReplyDeleteSo when you get old anonymous, you will provide no use to the city and you will not be saved?
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming based on anonymous #2 that he/she still drives the only car he/she has ever owned, lived in same house for all time? Im going to guess that he/she has at some time made the decision that a vehicle/building/article of clothing no longer serves its purpose and does not provide value to cover its costs and as such disposes of said item. Much the way the city should do with this old building
ReplyDeleteThat is quite a leap to make - drawing comparison between a derelict old building and a human life, but I can run with
ReplyDeleteUltimately this building has no feelings, no memories of days gone by, no family of any sort. You cannot draw any sort of comparison between the two as they are simply different.
I suppose if you want to go down that road we can comparison between the building and say an antique car, or an insect, perhaps a field of noxious weeds. Save it all I say - at any cost!!!
For the record - and please refer to my original post above, I am not necessarily against salvaging this structure. I do have questions:
What value does the build provide to the city?
What could it be used for?
Does it have plumbing - or would this half to be added to make it usable?
How about heating/AC?
Natural gas - Electricity?
Telephone lines?
Would it be of value to the Corporation of the City of Cranbrook?
Is the city short enough on space to require it?
If so is there more economical space available?
What will be the cost to taxpayers, if any?
Could the space be better utilized as something else?
Could the space be leased to a business - would it even be financially viable to do this?
I could go on - but these questions are a good start.
But to answer your original question - and I believe this with all my being - when the time comes, be it tomorrow or 50 years from now, when My life requires more public resources to sustain than I will be able to contribute back to society please let me go.
As I stated earlier - just cause it's old doesn't mean it should be saved!
I wish our city would dedicate itself to trying to beautify Cranbrook and make it aesthetically appealing to visitors by getting rid of these old eye sores and instead replacing them with beautiful modern buildings that we as citizens can be proud of. We should be fighting for beautification by advocating against old buildings like this.
ReplyDeleteGood to see someone thinking seriously about this little brick building even if Anonymous got a little carried away with the human analogy.
ReplyDeleteI think this little building is a lightning rod and symbol of all the beautiful Cranbrook buildings torn down in the past. Although often costly to restore, buildings such as these reflect the value we place in our history. Historically this little building was very significant. It links the Fire hall to City Hall with its underground pipes and old wiring. It was the building that heated and kept ‘alive’ the Fire Hall and City Hall. When you think of the cities you love there is usually a patina of age reflected in the historical buildings that add character and value of a different kind. Putting a monetary value on such things is not possible but unfortunately the $ sign frequently is all that matters to some. Yes, this building might cost money to restore but we have been told there is a group of young enthusiastic people willing to give it a go. To deny this possibility and opportunity would be a slap in the face to Cranbrook’s history and a huge put down to those who care enough to donate their time and energy to the project. To condemn the building purely on it age and state of repair is shallow and short sighted and follows in the tradition of Cranbrook’s past – knock it down and put in a parking lot. It’s time for Cranbrook to grow up.
As to use – storage comes to mind. Someone suggested storage for the Markets and Rotary Park functions. That seems like a great idea to me – ease of access and no more having to send drivers to fetch the tables and chairs at a cost of gas and physical energy.