Old hotel needs to come down says council

City of Powell River Council wants to be accommodating with the necessary demolition of the former Inn at Westview.

Council agreed that the building has to come down. At the Tuesday, August 18, committee of the whole meeting, Councillor Maggie Hathaway said she is coming up on seven years with city council and the facility was unsightly long before that time.

“I have more than the usual number of people asking when we are going to do something about it,” she said. “I think we need to move on it. If we are going to have bylaws we need to enforce them.

“As much as I like Jack Barr...that is the worst building in this town. It sits right behind the tourism office and that is how people are received here. It’s an old building that’s boarded up and looks like hell.”

The building belongs to American Investments Ltd., of which Barr is listed as manager. Barr is also president of Powell River Chamber of Commerce.

Hathaway said she does not know what can be done to help Barr demolish the building. She said maybe he could let the city know how it can assist.

“We need to get it out of there,” she said. “Enough is enough.”

Mayor Dave Formosa said he had spoken with Barr about the matter that day. Formosa said he does not believe the city has the legislative teeth through its bylaws to make the building come down. The mayor supported Hathaway that maybe the city can do something about it, through taxes, or by loaning the company some money to take the building down and have it paid over time.

“It’s an eyesore,” said Formosa. “It puts a black eye on the community.”

During his conversation with Barr, Formosa said the demolition figure quoted was about $300,000 because of hazardous materials in the building. Barr told the mayor that, in October or November, he will come with a plan about what to do with that property. The property owner is checking out companies that specialize in this type of demolition.

“He is aware of the problem and wants to do something about it,” said Formosa. “His biggest problem is he has high vacancy rates in his buildings.”

The building has been closed for roughly a decade and Barr continues to maintain the property. “He boarded up the building, keeps the grass cut and slaps a coat of paint on it when we’ve told him to, but the bottom line is it’s a problem,” said Formosa.

Mac Fraser, chief administrative officer, said the unsightly premises bylaw is a blunt tool for dealing with an ugly building. The Community Charter doesn’t empower the city to talk about buildings other than safety or graffiti.

“It’s really progressive to be working with Mr. Barr to try and find something,” said Fraser. He added that city staff would be happy to help resolve the matter.

Formosa said city officials had met with the fire chief and talked about providing an opportunity for a number of fire departments to come here and use the former inn for a controlled burn for training purposes. Both Fire Chief Dan Ouellette and Barr looked into the option, but it is not doable.

Hathaway said prior to Barr meeting with city officials she’d like to see senior staff come up with some creative ideas to assist him. She said the city should convey that it wants to help him accomplish the demolition because it is in the best interests of the entire community.

Councillor CaroleAnn Leishman, who was chairing the meeting, wondered if there had been an investigation into not demolishing it.

“I don’t think it’s beyond repair,” she said. Leishman suggested the possibility of gutting the building on the inside and repurposing it as affordable housing.

“Building that same building from scratch is way more costly,” she said.

Formosa said the housing option had been looked into. In several locations the roof has caved in and there is grass growing in a number of the rooms.

The committee agreed that city staff, in conjunction with the mayor, should develop strategies for demolition of the former Inn at Westview, for discussion in October.