from today's T&T
Latest proposal offers hope for historic Moncton High School
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Times and Transcript
By: Norbert Cunningham
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=13411
Another chapter begins in the long, strange saga of Moncton High School.
An expert
Moncton’s Richard Carpenter has long had a stellar reputation — deservedly so — for his dedication to preserving and restoring heritage properties, which runs counter to a still strong tendency in our region and city to tear down the old and put up something cheap and ugly in its place.
Mr. Carpenter has displayed the wisdom and vision required and concretely proved their worth by putting his money and talent behind them. Moncton is greatly enhanced as a result.
New proposal
Last week he stepped forward, explaining a proposal he’s made to the province to preserve the architecturally significant Moncton High School. A provincial asset, it’s for sale for $1 million. It’s sitting empty while a modern, somewhat politically controversial replacement, prepares to open elsewhere.
Mr. Carpenter proposes to renovate Moncton High for use of a school. I doubt the depth of the irony is lost to anyone but newcomers.
It’s particularly noticeable because Mr. Carpenter’s proposal makes tremendous common sense and his expertise and record are well-known. He’s entirely credible. Better yet, he’s volunteered his expertise and oversight for free.
I find it hard to believe the province, whoever forms government, wouldn’t jump at the opportunity, assuming standard due diligence confirms it’s realistic. I’ve no reason to believe it isn’t realistic. Being right and doing a marvelous job on time and on or below budget is a hallmark of Mr. Carpenter’s career.
It’s no surprise his proposal sparked some immediate public cynicism, considering the old school’s recent history, including the politics.
It’s bizarre that after years of the province and it’s school officials adamantly insisting the old place couldn’t be successfully and economically renovated and restored, along comes the province’s most celebrated expert at such work saying the opposite. He says it be done and will save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
Why, during all the years of lead up to the provincial decision to abandon the school and subsequent controversy, was Mr. Carpenter apparently not once formally consulted for a professional, expert opinion?
Some member of the public has suggested he should be. But it didn’t happen and Mr. Carpenter wisely stayed out of the politics, not having direct access to the facility to form any reliable opinion.
Now it’s on the market, he’s obviously assessed the property and says previous estimates of the cost were vastly over-stated. He didn’t speculate why that was.
Good questions
It’s usually smart for business to stay out of politics. It might make you, but it can just as quickly break you.
The media and public, on the other hand, are smart to focus on politics too. It matters.
It’s pertinent to ask why and how previous commissioned reports on the state of Moncton High, including estimated cost of renovation, we’re so inflated?
Did the district bureaucracy, which clearly preferred building a new facility, pull a fast one? Or was it just incompetence? I’ve no conclusive evidence either way, but the questions are legitimate. There have long been strong suspicions the process wasn’t exactly free of bureaucratic politics. That suspicion hasn’t lessened.
Mr. Carpenter’s proposal was immediately embraced by a Liberal MLA In this election year and the government took the approach of saying it is open to the idea provided due diligence indicates it’s feasible.
I consider their responses virtually identical on the assumption that a Liberal government would also complete standard due diligence. It’d be irresponsible to proceed if analysis shows the proposal is way off in its numbers. I’d bet even Mr. Carpenter would agree with that statement of the obvious. It’s his job to make sure it is a realistic proposal.
It remains to be seen what the public will think of Mr. Carpenter’s proposal beyond the obvious cynical noting of how ironic it is. Will they see beyond the irony and understand how positive it is? Will the usual suspects object simply because it involves a form of a public-private partnership, something they oppose automatically for ideological rather than rational reasons? Who knows given the recent history of various issues in this province!
A solution
It has been a long, strange saga, including shifting public opinion for no obviously good reasons. And it has long engendered suspicions. Yet now we have a logical proposal from a credible source. Sure, something similar should have been done in the first place. That’s water under the bridge. The public can judge the politicians. I just hope they recognize that’s a different issue from preserving the school itself and moving forward in a beneficial way, including economically.
The last word
Here’s Orrin Woodward:
“The problem with incompetence is its inability to recognize itself.”
personal note - This is the first I've heard about this proposal by Dick Carpenter. Does anyone else know what this is all about? The most important question I have is - if Carpenter wants to renovate the property as a school, then what type of school? Would it be public or private? Surely it would not be renovated as a new high school as that horse has already left the barn. If a private school; then what type of private school? Could it be a school for the arts? That would be a good fit given the excellent auditorium in the building. In any event, Carpenter has a good reputation in heritage preservation so it will be interesting to see if this proposal can fly……..
Now, if only we could get Dick interested in rehabilitating Castle Manor. It would make a fabulous boutique hotel……. 
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