ISAACS HARBOUR — After nearly a year of looking for ways to keep the former Isaacs Harbour Medical Centre building open, council for the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) voted last week to have it demolished.
“Sometimes as a councillor you have to make unpopular decisions,” Hudson MacLeod, who represents the communities of Goldboro, Country Harbour and Isaacs Harbour on municipal council, told The Journal in an email following the unanimous decision at the committee of the whole meeting Dec. 6. “Today was one of [those times].”
The 100-year-old municipally-owned building – which was originally built as the community’s school – failed to attract a single proposal to a sealed auction in November. Prior to that, the MODG attempted to solicit interest from community groups who may have been interested in taking over the building from its former tenants – the defunct medical centre’s board of directors – for a token amount of as little as $1.
MacLeod noted that the increasingly moldy structure with antiquated wiring had seen better days. “As a medical centre that had a doctor and a nurse, it served other purposes in the community. [But] it needed lots of repairs. The municipality had put out an RFP to see if someone was interested in the building; no RFPs were received and the community didn’t come forward with any interest.”
He added: “With no interest, population decline over the past 10 years and no major industries except fishing, etc., we [MODG council] had to make a decision.”
Council will seek buyers for the exercise equipment that’s housed in the building and discuss what to do with the land shortly. Demolition is tentatively scheduled for early next year.
Said MacLeod: “It is sad to see a part of our history and community be torn down.”
