Did You Know? Cost versus value of the Kerrobert Courthouse
Submitted by Veronica Smith
Chairperson of Kerrobert Courthouse Restoration Society
The Kerrobert Courthouse Restoration Society would like to take a few moments of your time to spotlight a few things regarding the cost versus value of the courthouse building that you may not know!
Our committee has been charged with the responsibility of raising funds to go towards the upkeep and restoration of our beautiful courthouse building. This means that the Town of Kerrobert is able to spend less tax dollars on the building and relies more on our fundraising efforts to keep the building in good repair.
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Although a building of this magnitude and age does indeed come with a hefty maintenance and restoration cost, it also brings huge value to our community both as a business and a cultural asset. Years ago, town council recognized the building's historical significance by designating it as a municipal heritage building, thus protecting it from falling to ruin. The town then moved their offices into the building and began to look for other ways to use the spaces in the building. It was a big commitment to make but a very worthwhile one!
Each facility in town is deserving of tax dollars. Each facility has a volunteer board that puts in many hours to keep the facility running. Regarding tax payers' dollars, however, the courthouse has its own fundraising committee that strives to take the pressure off of the town coffers by providing the community with fundraising events that people can choose to attend and support if they want.
The majority of recent courthouse restoration projects have been paid for through money raised by the restoration society's fundraising, voluntary personal and community committee donations as well as various successful grant applications that were awarded from companies that operate in our area and the provincial Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation.
Some grants require the town to commit matching funds which can be in the form of taxpayer dollars; however, since fundraising dollars for the building are kept separate from tax dollars, the town is now able to use the courthouse fundraising reserves to match these grant applications thus leaving the tax dollars free for other facilities and projects!
When thinking of the economic value of this building, we would like to point out that since the town bought the building through an adaptive re-use strategies, it has been successfully repurposed as an essential community hub.
If each of the entities that are housed within the courthouse walls were to be in their own separate buildings, as is the case in many other communities, we would need to pay for utilities and upkeep on a town office, a library, a museum, an art gallery as well as office buildings for a lawyer, a chiropractic practice and meeting places for the local chamber of commerce, the recreation board, the economic development office as well as many other boards that are under the town's umbrella. The savings of having all of these under one cohesive roof has proven to be a very wise monetary decision on the part of the council.
The building also provides many socio-economic benefits that are less tangible than economic value. It is difficult to put a value on our local history, creative arts and education. The building provides cultural tourism and access to the arts in a rural setting through its museum, art gallery & library, thus contributing to our citizen's quality of life. It engages the community through its volunteer opportunities on the boards of these cultural groups and promotes awareness of our heritage.
When it comes to what attracts new people to our town, the fact that we value our heritage and historical assets and are willing to commit to this 103-year-old building & restore it to put it to use as a multi-purpose facility instead of demolishing it speaks volumes about our community and its values!
Someone who recently moved to Kerrobert said that when looking at the website and doing research online, the courthouse building stood out to them. Other towns checked off a lot of "must-have" facilities on their list, such as rinks, pools, sports grounds, halls, parks, golf courses, etc., but we stood out because of our courthouse building and its uses. That in and of itself is something that we should be proud of.
The positive media coverage that the courthouse has been enjoying through its centennial celebration, the exciting time capsule discovery, the amazing exhibits of artists from all over the province, authors coming to the library to read their books, the festival of trees with the lighting of the entire courtyard and, like it or not, the attention that we have been getting from the paranormal enthusiasts regarding folklore of it being haunted, have all contributed to increased interest in the building and more people visiting and perhaps even to more people moving to our town! Investing in this beautiful heritage building has successfully increased public awareness of the history & cultural riches that we have in our own community.
If you have never toured the building, please do. You will be rewarded with an unforgettable experience. If you are unable to tour it during regular business hours, you may contact our committee for after-hours and weekend tours, and we will do our best to accommodate your request. Please see our Facebook page for contact information.
In closing, please support our upcoming fundraisers, such as our annual Christmas Dine & Dance – (Save the date: Friday, December 6, 2024) and donate generously to keep this building viable for future generations! Thank you for your support.