There is still some life left in the original St. Marys School building.
How much remains to be seen.
Owen Sound Council voted 5-4 Monday night in favour of rejecting a proposal by the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board that would have allowed the 118-year-old structure to be demolished.
The proposal — which was recommended to council by city staff — would have seen some architectural elements of the building used in the construction of a new faade on a part of the school building which is still in use.
But a majority of councillors felt the proposal did not go far enough to retain the heritage of the original building.
Councillor Jim McManaman says the citys official plan dictates that heritage buildings in Owen Sound shall be conserved.
He also wonders how the city would be able to help to save privately owned heritage properties if it is not willing to save a public structure such as the St. Marys.
Councillor Bill Twaddle agrees the public trust should be held to a higher standard than should the private sector.
He adds that the building was deemed cost-prohibitive to repair by a faceless bureaucrat at the Ministry of Education in Toronto who knows nothing about St. Marys or its history in Owen Sound.
Councillors Peter Lemon, Tom Pink and John Christie also voted to reject the proposal.
City/County Coun. Arlene Wright and David Adair both wonder what is to be done with the building if it is not torn down.
They voted in favour of the proposal, as did Coun. Deb Haswell and Mayor Ruth Lovell Stanners.
Bruce MacPherson, the Catholic school boards director of education, and Norm Bethune, the boards chair, both told council the building is not structurally sound, not accessible and not safe.
The building is shifting, as is the soil underneath, and even a fix worth millions of dollars would not solve the problems, they say.
The school is destined to crumble and fall in on itself if it is not demolished.
McManaman says if thats true, hes concerned as to why the building was in use by students as recently as this past June.
Eventually council did approve a seperate motion asking city and board staff to resume talks towards a solution that would be acceptable to all parties.
But the board wonders just what else they can offer in terms of a solution.
Ultimately, the issue could go to the provincially run Conservation Review Board.
But councillors also lament the lack of a clear message from the province, noting the Ministry of Culture advocates heritage preservation while the Ministry of Education wont make funds available for restoration of historic school buildings.