A letter from two local lawyers about a Declaration of Trust entered into by the city in the 1820s on the historic Sydney Street Courthouse is heading to the legal department after a narrow vote from Common Council, which declined an offer from the province to buy the courthouse earlier this month.
Councillor John MacKenzie says he doesn’t want the vacant building, “and if this is correct and it’s saying that Saint John is responsible for this building then I’ll be darned if I’m going to pay $500,000 for it.” Councillor Donna Reardon is on the Heritage Commitee and she says the city is not the greatest steward of heritage properties, “we’ve seen that with the Jellybean buildings, we’ve seen that with the Synagogue, because we don’t have any money.”
Mayor Mel Norton says right now he doesn’t see the city having the financial ability to take on that kind of a project and he thinks it’s something as a community we need to look at, “the potential costs of upkeep and maintenance have proven to be very difficult and challenging for the city in other examples.” He points to the City Market, saying that it needs $6-million in funding and and the city is still waiting on the province to help out with a $2-million contribution to the project.
Councillor Susan Fullerton, who voted against the motion to decline the province’s offer, has said that though they don’t have a use for the building she doesn’t want it to fall into private hands or the wrecking ball.
The Sydney Street Courthouse was built in the 1820s and is a national historic site.
The motion to send it to legal passed 5-4. This is the Declaration of Trust:
