West Richmond Education Centre; photo courtesy Schools around the Canadian Border Wiki
Future uses for a former Richmond Co. school are being discussed.
Members of the former Strait Regional School Board closed West Richmond Education Centre in Evanston at the end of the 2012-13 school year.
Reps with a citizens group started discussing some options for the building in 2018.
Councillors discussed several ways to use the space during June’s regular meeting Monday night.
After, Amanda Mombourquette, the warden of Richmond Co., told The Hawk everything is on the table within the limits of the Municipal Government Act.
“The municipality’s not in the business of being a landlord (and) we don’t want to see ourselves competing with private sector by any means,” she said. “At the same time, are there some creative arrangements that we could be making- partnerships- with private sector and whoever to solve some of these social challenges that we’re facing?”
Mombourquette said affordable housing was one of the options presented, given the need in the county and across the region.
She said the facility could also be used to help the nearby Strait Richmond Hospital.
“What are some creative options, just because of its proximity to the hospital?” she said. “Is there some sort of way that we could support our health care services and recruitment efforts, as well as deal with some of our housing challenges?”
Mombourquette said they’ve issued a request for proposals for a study on the state of the building, and they’ll wait for that before they make any decisions.
She said that report should be in their hands in the coming months.
