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The nearly 80-year-old Edmonton Historical Board (EHB) is among seven civic advisory committees city council is moving to dissolve on Tuesday.
Edmonton’s mayor says the city is looking to sunset the committees to modernize the way they engage with the community. But history advocates say the move was abrupt, and came without a clear plan for who will take over the EHB’s work.
The EHB was responsible for recommending properties to be added to the city’s inventory of historic resources, a precursor for a building to get historic designation protecting it from demolition. It also produced plaques recognizing historic buildings and places in Edmonton.
In a statement to CBC News, a city spokesperson said that work will be taken over by city staff and the Edmonton Heritage Council (EHC), a city-funded organization that is involved in historical programming and administering grants.
“Preserving Edmonton’s history and heritage is still important to us,” the statement said.
The EHB had existed in some form or another since 1947.
“Not to say that all things have to stick around forever, which is maybe an ironic part of this conversation, but it is certainly one of the more tenured organizations with a deep history,” said Dan Rose, a former chair of the board.
“I do anticipate there will be a loss in expertise and institutional knowledge.”
Rose said that without the EHB, he’s worried some work will fall through the cracks, including meaningful implementation of the city’s new Heritage Places Strategy that is currently in the works.
Kyle Schole, the current vice-chair of the Edmonton Historical Board, at a 2024 Plaque Presentation Ceremony at St. Luke’s Anglican Church. (Submitted by Kyle Schole)
He also noted the looming cut comes after the Alberta government eliminated funding for the 119-year-old Historical Society of Alberta.
It’s also a time when — more than ever — more historical buildings are at risk in Edmonton, Rose said. That’s highlighted in his social media campaign last month to determine what Edmonton’s most threatened historic building is.
“It’s a pretty rotten time to be an old building or to be a person working to do heritage,” he said.
Kyle Schole, the current vice-chair of the EHB, said he wishes the organization had been given six months to wind down and make a plan for who will take over its work.
“There was probably a better, gentler, kinder way to do this,” he said. “It does feel a little bit thankless.
“I think anytime you’re losing a structure like that without a road map for what replaces it, that can set up the likelihood of challenges.”
David Ridley, executive director of the EHC, said his organization did have some overlap with the EHB, but there were also distinct roles. He said the EHC is equipped to take some of that on, but he’s concerned about doing that as the city runs a tight budget.
He said it’s still not clear what exactly the EHC will be asked to take on.
“I think it’s proceeding as it needs to, but I can appreciate that there’s difficult feelings and some strong feelings about maybe the timeliness and the fairly rapid notice,” Ridley said.
In its statement, the city said the EHB’s role in managing historical resources was advisory, and its annual budget of $65,000 was almost entirely put toward plaques and organizing an annual plaque ceremony. It said for now, city heritage planners will manage the historical resources and their recognition until alternate arrangements are made.
