They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. I would argue that the road to many a dead end is paved in similar stuff, and such is the case with 499 Hot Springs Road.
For those not in the know, I’ll sum it up briefly. The Sasquatch Museum and Visitor Centre were housed at this building, and thanks to a $1 million grant from the province, the museum and visitor centre will be getting a new, bigger home on the same location. An interested party came forth to purchase the old building as, despite not having the original parts anymore, the building itself does have its place in Harrison’s history and a case can certainly be made for its salvation.
The deal was the winning bidder would pay $20,000 and the building would be removed by a certain date. That date came and passed, and the interested party had not filed to move the structure nor did they ask for an extension. So the agreement lapsed, and the building is set to be demolished and is taped off as we speak. All this took place from February to the latest update on Monday, July 11.
What happened?
So far as I can tell, village officials did what they needed to do, as did Tourism Harrison River Valley. The Fraser Valley Regional District would’ve also been involved had a permit application to move the building been submitted.
However, there is also ample room for the benefit of the doubt for the interested party. I certainly hope we get an explanation from the interested party accounting for what at face value seems to be a lack of action. There is undoubtedly time and resources both municipal and private poured into what turned out to be a bottomless bucket. I think the village would benefit in understanding why everything transpired the way it did.
The unresolved, unsatisfying conclusion of this road to nowhere is frustrating on multiple levels. The interested party may have had a very good reason for backing down, something unavoidable, which would be the most valid and – through perhaps no fault of theirs – disappointing outcome.
The building itself, though in rough shape in its own right, had a legitimate chance to be saved, and it wouldn’t have taken nearly as long to save that building compared its still-embattled historic counterparts, like the Hope Station House.
This vexation has somewhat marred what I believe could be a boon to local tourism, which attracts more visitors, helps the local economy, spreads the good word about Harrison Hot Springs and I can only imagine ends in a net positive for all of us.
Unfulfilled undertakings like this, regardless of how they reach their unfortunate and sometimes unexplainable ends, don’t serve anyone and can only bring us backward. But it’s a new day, and the best we can do now is dust ourselves off and start our village-improving ways anew.
Regardless of why the 499 Hot Springs Road incident played out the way it did, it’s a depressing way for that building to go. The saga ended on not a pleasing, harmonious chord but a muddy, dissonant belch. The museum, the visitor centre and the village itself deserved better.
@adamEditor18
adam.louis@ ahobserver.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.