A court application to stop the demolition of the former St. Paul’s Anglican Church rectory in Southampton won’t be heard until Aug. 8 in Walkerton’s Superior Court of Justice.
Applicant Laura Robinson, a Southampton resident, had said shortly after filing the March 20 application that Bruce County’s lawyer confirmed in writing no demolition would take place before a hearing.
But Wednesday she clarified in an interview that the letter said there were “no plans” to demolish the building before the hearing, something she’d like the county to clarify now.
Bruce County, Saugeen Shores and the Public Guardian and Trustee are all named respondents in the application. Southampton Cultural Heritage Conservancy is another applicant. It’s identified in the application as a non-profit corporation.
Robinson said by email that once the respondents files their affidavits, the documents will be discussed at a discovery hearing.
“On Aug. 8 our lawyer will present our evidence to the judge that the Public Guardian needs to investigate a possible breach of trust by the county concerning the Krug Estate Gift,” her email said.
The application asks for an injunction to stop demolition of the old rectory, cancellation of the existing demolition permit and a requirement that there be no demolition without a minimum 90 days notice, “prominently published”.
The county owns the rectory site and Saugeen Shores issued a demolition permit for the rectory after a request for proposals – which critics charged was too rushed — offered it for sale, to be removed intact or for salvage.
Ontario’s Public Guardian and Trustee, part of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, oversees the public’s interest in charities. The application is filed under S. 10 of the Charities Accounting Act.
The application seeks a declaration the county breached the restricted purpose of the charitable trust created by the estate gift from Bruce A. Krug.
This resulted in a “restricted purpose charitable trust,” leaving the county with a fiduciary duty to ensure the funds were used as intended, the application said.
The application said the county used the money for several studies relating to the archives and to purchase the property, which includes the former rectory that “continues to be subject to the same terms as the Krug Estate Gift.
“The property therefore is only to be used for the archives building for the storage and display of the archives of the county, in memory of Bruce and Howard Krug,” the application said.
Demolition of the 124-year-old rectory at 254 High St. in Southampton initially was proposed to allow expansion of the museum and accommodate a Nuclear Innovation Institute. But in November, Bruce Power announced it was bowing to public pressure about that location and decided not to locate the institute there.
The county’s chief administrative officer, Murray Clark, has declined to comment because this involves a legal proceeding. Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau declined by email Wednesday, for the same stated reason. An emailed request for comment to Bruce County Warden Mitch Twolan received no reply by day’s end.