Letters

Suggestions for old town hall in Beeton

February 3, 2016   ·   0 Comments

The old Town Hall building on Beeton’s Main Street sits forlorn and empty. It’s for sale or lease right now and, as Ward 7 councillor Shira Harrison-McIntyre said recently: “If this building were gone, it would be missed.”
I totally agree with this thought. In fact, I proposed in an earlier newspaper article that this building be preserved and protected.
Its presence is being discussed by numerous people right now, so let’s look at a bigger picture within the township. My suggestions are thoughts for all to consider:
The Town of New Tecumseth buy this building which Wendy Gabrek calls the “crown jewel on Main Street.”
Inside, create an office complex and then move the 8th Line New Tecumseth offices into the Town Hall.
Then move the museum in Alliston (The South Simcoe Museum on the Boyne) into the empty buildings on the 8th Line, west of Beeton. The museum would then have more room for display (inside and outside), storage, and parking. This “room for growth” would enable the museum to better represent South Simcoe.
This would free up the present museum building in Alliston so that the library in Alliston could be moved there, subsequently giving it additional space for books, etc. This would free up the present Alliston Memorial Library site on Victoria Street which could be sold.
The Town Hall in Beeton with the Township offices in place would become the front of the new arena/recreation complex. The upstairs of the Town Hall is an abandoned “opera house.” This could stay and be developed into a usable space for presentations, meetings, and community events. Proper use of the opera hall would mean that the “hall” space being suggested in the new arena could be used for a wider variety of community uses and activities.
Finally, speaking about the new arena, I suggest the Town Hall would be the front of the new arena and you would go through (as you would through the D.A. Jones library) into the arena, which would face east/west behind the Town Hall. This would mean the shoe box structure on the back of the present Town Hall would have to go.
A massive job, I admit, but big things are achieved out of small ideas. We have to prepare for tomorrow. We cannot lose heritage buildings by ignoring them; they must be protected and cherished. Think about my ideas – mull them over and discuss them. That’s all I ask.

Bert Platt
P.S. Now that I have you thinking, the Tottenham library needs a new home. The east side of the TCRC? Lots of parking. Walkable. Any other suggestions?

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