A city committee will vote Wednesday on a motion to use $200,000 of municipal money toward a renovation project to save the Hermitage ruins in Ancaster by removing every stone, numbering them and then carefully mortaring them back in place.

The work, with a preliminary estimate of $440,000, would make the historical site safe for public access and support trusses would no longer be required, says City Councillor Lloyd Ferguson, who represents Ancaster.

Ferguson, who will make the motion, says the site could then be used for concerts, as well as being a destination for hikers in the Dundas Valley.

"The foundation is shot and the whole thing has to come down," he says. "We have to put a new foundation underneath it."

Workers would then rebuild the three main walls with a structural beam inside each. The rear walls and two outbuildings would be demolished, with the rubble stones used to fill in areas where they're missing on the interior of the main walls.

Ferguson's proposal has already received support from the Hamilton Conservation Authority, that previously had a $200,000-plan to vastly lower the walls. Now the authority says it is onside with Ferguson's effort and will put the $200,000 towards it. An additional $75,000 has been raised from fundraising.

Ferguson says he wants to make sure there is a contingency fund of money beyond the $440,000 initial estimate. So fundraising would continue to raise $200,000, leading to a pool of $600,000 for the project.

Ferguson says he's hopeful his fellow councillors at the general issues committee will support his motion for the city to match the authority's $200,000 contribution. He says Hermitage is a landmark for the entire city of Hamilton, not just Ancaster.

The preliminary estimate was put together by Ancaster-based Rock Solid Natural Stone Masons. Matt Kuhlmann, a stone mason with the company, says, "We're hoping we can do it in six months."

Bob Wilkins, who chairs Ancaster's BIA and has worked on the restoration of several heritage buildings, says the project will preserve the architecturally significant features, turning the Hermitage into "a free-standing structure that can last forever" and host public events inside the remaining walls.