Quaker Meeting House finally recognized

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In a report to council on Monday night, senior building inspector Jake Locke formally recommended that the Quaker Meeting House on Concession 6 be designated as a heritage property.

Cosmos file photo

The present board and batten meeting house, built in 1820, is the oldest building in Uxbridge Township, erected by the first Quaker settlers to arrive in Uxbridge. The building now is used to hold a remembrance service every year on the second Sunday in June. The Meeting House is linked to its surroundings through its situation on Quaker Hill, which overlooks the Uxbridge valley. It is also visually and historically linked to the adjacent Friends’ Burial Ground, which is just across the road from the Meeting House, and in which many of its early congregation are interred.

Locke said that the Township received no objections to council's intention to bestow the designation on the building. In keeping with the Ontario Heritage Act, council passed a by-law formally designating the property as a heritage building.

Also at Monday evening’s meeting, Township treasurer Tobi Lee gave council a report stating her intention to submit a claim to help cover some of the costs the Township incurred during the ice storm in March.

The Township declared a significant weather event during the storm, and in the following weeks Township crews carried out extensive clean-up operations to remove debris, fallen trees, and branches across the community. In June, the province created the Municipal Ice Storm Assistance program to provide one-time financial support to municipalities.

Lee said council will receive another update once the application has been finalized, which will be done once the financial impact of the ice storm is known. She said costs related to emergency response and recovery efforts are still being quantified. She said, however, the costs involve "a significant number of dollars."

Finally, on Monday night, council gave approval in principle to a request from an organization called LiveBarn to operate a streaming service at the Uxbridge arena.

In a deputation, LiveBarn's Patrick Reynolds said the service would allow people who could not attend the arena in person to watch events such as hockey games and lacrosse games to watch the games from remote locations. He said the streaming service would not cost the Township anything. People, such as parents who missed a child's game, would be able to sign up for a fee and access the game via the internet.