- March 2010 to June 2010 - Move station building to Beiseker; estimated cost $75,000
- March 2010 to June 2010 - Remove asbestos from building; estimated cost $20,000
- March 2010 to June 2010 - Construct new foundation for the building; estimated cost $50,000
- May 2010 to March 2011 - Renovate and restore the building on its new foundation; estimated cost $305,000
- May 2010 to June 2010 - Install a trach line adjacent to station; estimated cost $30,000
- July 2010 to August 2010 - Build a new passenger platform; estimated cost $20,000
It also mentions that the Beiseker Railway Mueum apparently received a federal grant through the "Community Adjustment Fund" for the amount of $500,000.
I'm confused. What happened?
Whoa, wait a minute - has the building been cleared of asbestos?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I certainly hope so. Village Council has very little if any control or information over this whole project.
DeleteI checked the government web site for the "Community Adjustment Fund". No mention of dollars being approved for the project.
ReplyDeleteHi there!
DeleteI occasionally help my Dad on the technical side by linking to sources, so readers can find out more on their about the subjects of his blog as well as background information. I'm the one who linked in this article to the federal government's Community Adjustment Fund site.
Originally, Ray wasn't absolutely certain of the federal fund's name, so I did a little research. I'd found a Beiseker Railway Museum press release, dated 6 January 2012, announcing that they had purchased the Bassano Station. It specifically mentioned that the Museum had received funds from the federal government's Community Adjustment Fund. Here's a link; Beiseker Railway Museum Press Release
As for why there's no mention of it, my best guess would be that the Community Adjustment Fund website may not have a complete list of every single project that received money. They do mention over 300 projects received funding through the program, yet a quick count of each province's list seems to be short of that number.
I was just bored, and very aware from my employment, that information on any funds disbursed by the government on these sort of programs, is well itemized and public information. It would be interesting to find out whether or not they really did receive the funding though...
DeleteI don't see much reason to doubt the Railway Museum at their word, that they'd received funding from the Community Adjustment Fund sometime in 2011.
DeleteHere's another wrinkle. I understand that the actual station move from Bassano to Beiseker was done by a huge international moving company on their multi-wheeled dolly system. I also understand that they did not charge for their services.
ReplyDeleteMethinks something is very amiss. An investigation needs to be conducted to find out where the half mil went. AND why the station is sitting there to rot
ReplyDeleteA couple of you have suggested that I'm blaming Fred Walters for this Bassano Station fiasco while nothing could be further from fact! Fred has spent hundreds, perhaps thousands of volunteer hours trying to keep this project going while others from the Railway Museum have faded into the woodwork! Our thanks to former Councillor Fred Walters for all his work for this museum project. I hope that all his hard work will finally come to fruition!
ReplyDeleteI understand your thoughts regarding apportionment of blame, this appears to be a real quagmire for anyone trying to help it along. Is there any way someone could take it over and at least make things semi presentable in a quick and dirty way? I fear, like some other major volunteer projects this might sit there for years.
ReplyDelete