In order to become accessible, the washrooms need to be renovated, provisions for an exterior elevator need to be made, as would an interior elevator, if the basement were to be used. A new Main Street entrance is also required.

Based on comparable experiences with other town buildings, that work would cost around $405,000, according to a January 20 staff report.

There is nothing wrong with the structure, but it’s just not built to current standards, Rob Raycroft, the town’s director of leisure services told councillors last week.

“There’s no need to knock it down,” he said.

But that is what Councillor Iain Lovatt fears will happen.

“The grain elevator is not down a week yet and already we want to sell (the Silver Jubilee),” he said during the council meeting.

Councillor Rob Hargrave noted these discussions remind him of the outdoor pool, which no longer exists, as well as the grain elevator.

The building is on the town’s built inventory heritage list but not designated by the Ontario Heritage Act.

“(A) heritage designation recognizes the importance of a property to the local community; protects the property’s cultural heritage value; encourages good stewardship and conservation and promotes knowledge and understanding about the property,” according to the Ontario Heritage Act website.

A property can be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act when a municipality states its intention to do so via “… the drafting of a statement of cultural heritage value and interest, a council motion and an advertisement in a local publication,” according to the trust’s website.

“Designation can be undertaken quickly,” the website further noted.

Because of its size – 3,700 square feet – the best tenant is someone other than leisure services, according to Raycroft.

The municipality bought the former post office in 1985 after leasing it for almost a decade before that.

While under town ownership, the building had a number of tenants.

In 1981, the basement was sub-leased to Seneca College. Currently, that space is occupied by the Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library’s books being held in storage for its annual sale.

The Latcham Gallery held its children’s art classes there until last summer, when they were moved to new classroom space in the nearby gallery.

The main floor once housed the Strawberry Festival office and 55+ Club.