1. DEVELOPMENT
OF FAIRFIELDS PROPERTY
AMÉNAGEMENT de la propriété
FAIRFIELDS |
That Council:
1.
Approve the development of the
Fairfields property for heritage and public use, to be funded through the
endowment that was created for this property, as described in this report;
2.
Authorize the Deputy City
Manager of Community and Protective Services to appoint the City’s
representative on the Friends of Fairfields organization; and,
3.
Direct City staff to take
appropriate steps to investigate whether it is feasible and advisable to apply
for and obtain an Ontario Heritage Trust easement for the purposes of the
Fairfields property and report back to Council if appropriate.
Que le
Conseil :
1.
d’approuver
l’aménagement de la propriété Fairfields pour son utilisation patrimoniale et
son usage par le public, dont le financement principal proviendra du fonds de
dotation créé pour cette propriété, tel que décrit dans le présent rapport;
2.
d’autoriser
le directeur municipal adjoint des Services communautaires et de protection à
nommer le représentant de la Ville auprès de l’organisation Les amis de
Fairfields; et
3. de demander au personnel de la Ville de prendre
les mesures appropriées pour évaluer s’il est réalisable et recommandable de
demander et d’obtenir une servitude de la Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien aux
fins de la propriété Fairfields et de faire rapport au Conseil, le cas échéant.
DOCUMENTATION
1.
Deputy City Manager, Community and
Protective Services report dated 4 January 2008 (ACS2008-CPS-CSF-0001).
Report to/Rapport au :
Comité des services communautaires et de
protection
and Council/ et au Conseil
4 January 2008 / le 4 janvier 2008
Steve
Kanellakos
Deputy
City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint
Community and Protective Services/Services
communautaires et de protection
Contact Person/Personne ressource :
Colleen
Hendrick, Director
Cultural
Services and Community Funding
Services culturels et financement communautaire
(613) 580-2424 x 24366, colleen.hendrick@ottawa.ca
|
SUBJECT: |
DEVELOPMENT
OF FAIRFIELDS PROPERTY
|
|
OBJET : |
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend
Council:
1. Approve the development of the Fairfields property for heritage and public use, to be funded through the endowment that was created for this property, as described in this report;
2. Authorize the Deputy City Manager of Community and Protective Services to appoint the City’s representative on the Friends of Fairfields organization; and,
3. Direct City staff to take appropriate steps to investigate whether it is feasible and advisable to apply for and obtain an Ontario Heritage Trust easement for the purposes of the Fairfields property and report back to Council if appropriate.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU
RAPPORT
Que le Comité des Services
communautaires et de protection recommande au Conseil :
1.
d’approuver
l’aménagement de la propriété Fairfields pour son utilisation patrimoniale et
son usage par le public, dont le financement principal proviendra du fonds de
dotation créé pour cette propriété, tel que décrit dans le présent rapport;
2. d’autoriser le directeur municipal
adjoint des Services communautaires et de protection à nommer le représentant
de la Ville auprès de l’organisation Les amis de Fairfields; et
3.
de
demander au personnel de la Ville de prendre les mesures appropriées pour
évaluer s’il est réalisable et recommandable de demander et d’obtenir une
servitude de la Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien aux fins de la propriété
Fairfields et de faire rapport au Conseil, le cas échéant.
In 2001, the new City of Ottawa assumed responsibility for Fairfields, an undeveloped heritage property donated to the former City of Nepean and the Community Foundation of Ottawa in 2000 by the Bell family. The City has stewardship and fiduciary responsibilities to preserve and interpret the homestead as a result of the bequest from the Bell family. The City has worked with the Friends of Fairfields and the Community Foundation of Ottawa to prepare a sustainable development proposal that would meet the intent of Dick Bell’s will and that could be financed through the endowment created by the Bell family and managed by the Community Foundation of Ottawa.
This report seeks Council’s endorsement of a plan which is funded
from the endowment that will result in the property being used by the Nepean
Museum as an interpretation centre to tell the story of the Bell family while
also providing office space for the Council of Heritage Organizations in Ottawa/le
Conseil des organismes du patrimoine d’Ottawa (CHOO/COPO) and the Ottawa Museum
Network/Le Réseau du Musée d’Ottawa (OMN/RMO).
The
recommended plan will be implemented in 2008, subject to a review in 2010 of
the funding model and all costs associated with the property.
The
Friends of Fairfields have also requested that the City investigate the
possibility of adding a heritage conservation easement on the property.
En 2001, la nouvelle Ville d’Ottawa
a assumé la responsabilité de Fairfields, une propriété du patrimoine non
aménagée donnée à l’ancienne Ville de Nepean et à la Fondation communautaire
d’Ottawa en 2000 par la famille Bell. Suite à ce legs de la famille Bell, la
Ville doit s’acquitter de ses responsabilités de gestion et fiduciaires pour
préserver et interpréter le patrimoine familial. La Ville a travaillé conjointement
avec Les amis de Fairfields et la Fondation communautaire d’Ottawa pour
préparer une proposition de développement durable qui respecterait la demande
formulée dans le testament de Dick Bell et qui serait financée par le
fonds de dotation créé par la famille Bell et géré par la Fondation
communautaire d’Ottawa.
Le présent rapport demande
l’approbation par le Conseil d’un plan financé par le fonds de dotation et
selon lequel la propriété sera utilisée par le musée de Nepean à titre de
centre d’interprétation où l’on racontera l’histoire de la famille Bell, tout
en fournissant un espace à bureaux pour le Conseil des organismes du patrimoine
d’Ottawa (COPO) et le Réseau du Musée d’Ottawa (RMO).
Le plan recommandé sera mis en œuvre en 2008 et en
2010, le modèle de financement et tous les coûts associés à la propriété feront
l’objet d’une révision.
Les amis de
Fairfields ont également demandé que la Ville évalue la possibilité d’ajouter
une servitude de conservation du patrimoine à la propriété.
BACKGROUND
Located at 3080 Richmond Road, Fairfields, the historic Bell family
home, is a 2-acre heritage property designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.
The property includes a home, garage, gazebo, mature trees and gardens.
Ownership of Fairfields and its chattels was willed jointly (50/50) to the City of Nepean and the Community Foundation of Ottawa (CFO) in December 2000 by the Bell family. The property was valued at over $600,000 at the time of transfer.
In the transfer agreements, the Bell Family indicated that a “Friends of Fairfields” would be created to authorize expenditures against the endowment managed by the CFO for the development and maintenance of the property. The “Friends” organization was incorporated as a not-for-profit, 12 March 2004. Its membership is composed of a minimum of five members, with one seat reserved for the CFO, one for the City (currently represented by Gilles Séguin, Program Manager, Heritage Development) and one for the Nepean Museum. Ruth Bell, the wife of the deceased Dick Bell, chairs the Friends organization.
The Bell family created an endowment for the development and maintenance of the property. The endowment is managed by the Community Foundation of Ottawa. The endowment is currently valued at $1.3M and generates approximately $60,000 in disbursements annually. The accumulated unspent revenue from the endowment since its creation is $297,000.
The City has not drawn on the endowment extensively to date until the Friends, CFO and the City could agree on a feasible and sustainable use for the property.
Dick Bell’s will stipulated that the property should be developed into a heritage site to be enjoyed by the general public. The Bells, who settled on the property following their arrival from Ireland in 1822 or 1823, were among the earliest settlers in the former City of Nepean. They operated a tavern on the site from an early date and were soon among the municipality’s most prominent and progressive agriculturalists. From the second generation they were active in community politics and organizations, at the county level in the third, and in the fourth and fifth were prominent in national and provincial political, legal, and voluntary circles. The Hon. R.A. Bell was national director of the Progressive Conservative Party and Minister of Citizenship and Immigration in the Diefenbaker cabinet.
The
Friends of Fairfields, City staff, the CFO and the Nepean Museum have
unanimously endorsed the following development plan for the property:
· The Nepean Museum will use most of the house to tell the Bell family story and relevant facets of the Nepean story on an appointment basis as an extension of the current Nepean Museum operation. The Museum will not be charged rent for the use of this space in exchange for partnering with the City to provide these services.
· The Council of Heritage Organizations in Ottawa/le Conseil des organismes du patrimoine d’Ottawa (CHOO/COPO) and the Ottawa Museum Network/le Réseau du Musée d’Ottawa (OMN/RMO), both not-for-profit heritage organizations seeking office space, will use a small apartment attached to the house. The use of the property by these organizations will raise their profile in the community and increase visitation of the ground floor interpretation centre. Their presence will also discourage vandalism and they will be able to quickly report any damage due to water infiltration, power outages, storms, etc. Both organizations will not be charged rent in exchange for partnering with the City to provide these services.
· The City, through RPAM, will retain the property management function as neither the CFO nor the Nepean Museum want to be the sole owners of the property or assume a property management capacity. The City has professional resources to maintain Fairfields to meet its stewardship responsibilities.
Initial capital retrofit costs, interpretation center exhibits and ongoing property operating expenses and capital repairs will be funded from the accumulated and yearly proceeds of the endowment.
The
plan recommended above will be implemented in 2008, subject to a review in 2010
of the funding model and all costs associated with the property.
Implementation of this proposal requires a Council direction to enable staff to proceed.
The City has one seat on the Friends of Fairfields organization. The City is presently being represented by the Manager of Heritage Development. The position requires a significant degree of operational knowledge of the property as the organization deals with the specifics of how the property is managed and operated. Staff recommend that Committee and Council grant the authority to the Deputy City Manager of Community and Protective Services to appoint the City’s representative on the Friends of Fairfields organization.
Preliminary information obtained by staff indicate that an Ontario Heritage Trust Conservation Easement may be beneficial for this property as a tool to assist in preserving the heritage nature of the property. Such easements are granted by the Ontario Heritage Trust, a provincially mandated body, and are subject to prescribed criteria including the submission of extensive documentation in support of the heritage character of the property, and may in some cases be accompanied by grant funding.
A conservation
easement is a voluntary legal agreement between the heritage property owner and
the Trust. It establishes mutually accepted conditions that will ensure the
preservation of the heritage property in perpetuity. When the owner proposes
alterations, it is the role and responsibility of the Trust to ensure that the
alterations are carried out in a manner consistent with the conservation
purpose of the easement. Conservation easements do not prohibit change. Instead, they
ensure that change is managed in a manner consistent with sound conservation
principles. And because the easement runs with the title of the property, the
conditions for the property's conservation remain in place should it be sold,
thereby ensuring its long-term preservation. The Trust is then responsible for
monitoring the site to ensure that the easement's original conservation
intentions are followed.
It is recommended that Council direct staff to review further whether this type of easement is feasible and desirable in this case given the guidelines that have been established for both the operation and funding of the Fairfields property. Staff would also be required to consult with the Community Foundation of Ottawa as co-owner of the property, and with the Friends of Fairfields and other affected parties, as part of this review.
CONSULTATION
The following internal stakeholders were consulted:
Development Services, RPAM, Legal, Finance, the Ward Councillor and the Arts,
Heritage and Culture Advisory Committee.
The following external stakeholders were consulted:
Mrs. Ruth Bell, the
Friends of Fairfields, the Nepean Museum, the Community Foundation of Ottawa,
the Council of Heritage Organizations in Ottawa/le Conseil du patrimoine
d’Ottawa, and the Ottawa Museum Network/le Réseau du Musée d’Ottawa.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
There is no financial implication associated with the approval of this report.
CITY STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS
The plan and partnerships described in this report support the following City Strategic Directions:
Service Priority E (11): Operationalize the Ottawa 20/20 Arts and Heritage Plan and the Museum Sustainability Plan; and
Transformation Priority C (6): Achieve efficiencies in City operations
DISPOSITION
Upon approval of this report, the Community and Protective Services Department, Cultural Services and Community Funding Branch will commence with implementation of the plan as outlined in the report.