Red Deer city council will be asked to consider entering into an agreement to preserve the historic Parsons House in its current downtown location.
City manager Craig Curtis said the provincial government still hasn’t made a decision about whether to keep the 115-year-old house, which could be knocked down next fall to make way for a new justice centre — even though the city and many community members want it preserved.
At Monday’s council meeting, city councillors will be asked to deal with the provincial government’s concerns about the house’s security and its aesthetics if the new courthouse is built around it.
Curtis said provincial staff have suggested a memorandum of understanding be reached between the city and the province as a way of putting some of these fears to rest.
Among the proposed terms is a suggestion the province either maintains ownership of Parsons House or considers a sale to the city for $1.
Also in the proposed memorandum:
* The city would agree to oversee the property management, leasing and operations of the house, and to set in motion a rezoning of the property to a direct control district.
* The province and city would agree to maintain the historic integrity of the house, which was in 1993 made a registered historic resource under the Alberta Historical Resources Act.
* The province would fund all major maintenance and the city would deal with all minor repairs and upkeep.
The proposal states: “The city will occupy the house for public purposes or lease to a tenant that is acceptable to the province.”
It also asks that the province take reasonable measures to address the structural integrity of the house during the justice centre construction.
“We’re hoping for the best,” said Curtis, who hopes the memorandum of understanding, if agreed upon by both sides, will evolve into a legal, binding document.
While it had been suggested that Parsons House be worked into plans for the justice centre, Curtis heard the province isn’t entertaining this option. Perhaps an agreement with the city would put this and other possibilities on the table, he added.
In Monday’s council agenda, Parsons House is called “a significant historic resource, which the city would like to see preserved in its current location…. There is community support to preserve the house.”
Built in 1903, it was Red Deer’s first medical clinic and is considered one of the best local examples of Georgian neo-classical design. It’s also one of the last examples of a residence built with brick from the now defunct local brickyards.
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
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