A last minute e-mail will not stop the demolition of Alexandra Community school in Owen Sound.
Council received an email from a Heritage planner with the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture, strongly recommending the city do a heritage impact evaluation on the school.
The Chair of the Owen Sound Planning and Heritage Committee, and councillor Deb Haswell, says it came as a surprise to members of council.
She still plans to support demolition of the school, and construction of a new Alexandra school as planned.
The Bluewater school board’s plan is for a 5.2-million dollar, 27 thousand square foot, single-storey building that will accommodate 260 students.
Ideally, the board wants to begin construction this spring and open it in the fall of 2011, after which time the existing school will be closed and torn down.
Haswell says the accomodation review committee has not received any concerns from past or present students of the school.
Councillor Haswell says she has concerns still with conflicting messages from the province.
Queens Park is telling municipalities to preserve heritage buildings, but the Ministry of Education believes it is easier to knock down a building and put up a new one, rather than do major upgrades.