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NLIS 7
October 30, 2000
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)


NOTE TO EDITORS:

Sandra Kelly, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation (acting) is pleased to release a letter from former Minister Charles J. Furey to St. John�s Mayor Andy Wells regarding the issue of The Rooms.

Media contact: 
Deborah Glassman
Manager of Communication and Development
(709) 729-5002, 
e-mail dglassman@mail.gov.nf.ca

Following is the text of the letter from the former minister:

October 27, 2000

Mayor Andy Wells
City of St. John�s
P.O. Box 908
St. John�s, NF
A1C 5M2

Dear Mayor Wells:

We have received the Resolution of Council of October 23, 2000 regarding The Rooms. We are pleased that Council is engaging in a serious debate about this project. Council has focused on a very practical question in its Resolution and I am pleased to provide the following response.

The preface to the Council�s question suggests that an archaeological investigation should be undertaken. In fact, this work is now approaching completion and has uncovered an array of walls, floors, drains and related artifacts. These findings are consistent with the original archival report in November 1999 which stated that, "the likelihood that a broad range of intact and meaningful historic resources dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are extant on the site below ground is high."

Archaeology is the scientific study of material remains (e.g., fossil relics, artifacts, and monuments) of past human life and activities. The main purpose of archaeology is to learn about the past. Therefore, the archaeological investigation focused on complete extraction of information from the ruins and artifacts. This activity was performed by an outstanding group of archaeologists under a permit issued pursuant to the Historic Resources Act.

Council�s resolution implies that the archaeological investigation can answer the question whether the movement of The Rooms from Fort Townshend is warranted. The archaeological investigation, however, does not deal with this question. The investigation was based on the assumption that certain features would have to be dismantled, and excavation work focused on those areas of impact. Once the archaeological investigation is finished, and all the information is extracted, the options for future maintenance of the site are a matter of choice and policy. Any dismantled features, of course, would be properly conserved and stored for possible future use.

City Council is asked to make choices every week. Issues like a demolition permit for the Belvedere Orphanage, a treatment facility for the harbour, or a heritage strategy for the downtown, all require choices. Often these choices need to account for available budget, time and the difficulty of pursuing other alternatives.

In answer to Council�s question whether the Province would continue to finance the project at another site, the answer is that there is no compelling reason to move off site and waste the millions already spent. Forty millions dollars were set aside for this project, a huge investment at a time of important competing priorities across government. A single sectoral group and the City of St. John�s cannot expect the provincial government to add $5 million or more to the project to enable its relocation. Even a time delay of six months would require another $210,000 to amend existing contracts and re-bury the site for the winter, plus the risk that construction cost inflation would escalate the cost of the project by a further $540,000. Moreover, there is no alternative site which offers complete certainty or lack of controversy. We should also not forget that Fort Townshend was chosen following a very extensive site analysis because it offers the combination of attributes which are critical to the long-term success of the facility. If we move from Fort Townshend there is no guarantee of community consensus on another site.

Our approach to The Rooms would be different if there was an incontrovertible requirement to avoid any impact on archaeological resources. However, this is not the case. The choices on how to present archaeological resources to the public, or whether to present them at all, are made by balancing the needs of the community. Everyone�s view is important, not just one sector. The values held by one discipline cannot be the determining factor over how all other community values are treated. The Rooms on Fort Townshend achieves the right balance of values.

It is essential to remember that we are not riding roughshod over archaeological views. You have been briefed on the extensive preservation and exhibit measures which are being taken. The Rooms will be an extraordinary attraction about which the City and the Province will be proud.

Finally, on your question about plans for Fort Townshend if The Rooms were to be moved, this question is not relevant given the information above. However, it is worthy of note that the Province would have no plan or intent to excavate and interpret the Fort Townshend site if The Rooms was not being built. It would lie dormant. Its only practical hope for historic interpretation lies with The Rooms.

Thank you for the opportunity to deal with Council�s Resolution.

Sincerely yours,

CHARLES J. FUREY, M.H.A.
St. Barbe

2000 10 30 4:10 p.m.


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