… EU funds restoration, conservation plan

THE Mayor and City Council would need at least $400M to effectively restore the Georgetown City Hall to its pristine state, Town Clerk Royston King said yesterday, based on information collected some 10 years ago.

“Because the building continues to deteriorate, I think perhaps it will need a bit more than $400M,” King told reporters on the sidelines of an event to formulate a restoration and conservation plan for the historic building.

The European Union has teamed up with the National Trust of Guyana to fund a two-day stakeholder workshop for the Comprehensive Restoration Plan and Sustainable Conservation Management Plan for City Hall.

Following completion of the plan and its handing over to City Hall, Phase Two of the project will be to find funding to get the actual works done.

“Perhaps we will need to approach governmental agencies with this project; craft a plan to see how we can have funding because the Council cannot fund this. We are struggling to do even basic things at this point. We will need everyone to make a contribution as we move forward,” King expressed.

Based on a report obtained from City Engineer Colvern Venture, King said the most immediate works will include repairs to the roof and windows.

Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Guyana, Jernej Videti?, explained that the original physical and structural soundness of the building will be restored.
He referred to City Hall as Georgetown’s most iconic and outstanding building, and said that since the building is considered important to heritage, headway will soon be made with the project.

According to the ambassador, the final plan is expected to be completed and handed over to City Hall by the end of June.

Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase-Green said after many years of patience, she was happy and excited that the project is moving forward.

July 1 will make the building 129 years old and it has been in occupational use by Chase-Green since 1994. She expressed how she watched the building deteriorate year after year but was helpless. “We had so many consultations and promises and so we became frustrated,” she said.

STATE OF DETERIORATION
Chase-Green said they have been trying with the building for more than 20 years now and spoke about the extent of its deterioration by pointing out how pieces of the building are always falling off and shoe heels often stick in the floors.

She also described City Hall as a fire hazard and said with even a loose wire, it can go up in flames within a second. The Guyana Fire Service had advised M&CC officers to move out of the building but the workers were later told that it would have deteriorated faster if everyone left.

Director of Culture, Tamika Boatswain, offered that the Government of Guyana would like to express its gratitude to the European Union for its commitment to the restoration of City Hall.

She said the project comes at an opportune time when the government is investing heavily in developing Guyana’s tourism potential; and buildings like City Hall are likely to attract lovers of wooden heritage to Georgetown.

“Guyana has lost many beautiful buildings because of the absence of a proper management plan. The New Amsterdam Hospital and the original Sacred Heart Church are examples of heritage lost as direct results of the absence of good management plans,” she pointed out, adding, “The partnership between the European Union and Guyana is intended to realise the development of a comprehensive restoration and management plan for the Georgetown City Hall. The Georgetown City Hall is one of the more unique colonial heritage buildings in Guyana and is an integral part of the identity of Georgetown.”

Nirvana Persaud, Chief Executive Officer of the National Trust of Guyana, said it is hoped that this will serve as a pilot project for future initiatives.

She disclosed that a detailed term of reference was created for the restoration of City Hall and for the City Engineer’s building. The plan will not only report on what needs fixing but also discuss an approach for getting things done, Persaud said.