Tiny council asking ‘Loup’ house owner for brief demo pause

In a busy day of draft budgets and industrial technicalities, a few minutes were taken during council to address the ongoing saga of a historic piece of Lafontaine’s past, present and future.

The house at 4 Potato Court, once belonging to the protagonist (Théophile Brunelle) from the legend of the “Loup au Lafontaine” story, was approved for delisting from the municipal heritage register during a recent regular meeting of council.

Built in 1870, the two-storey house had since fallen into a state of deep disrepair, prompting the current property owner to file a notice of intent to demolish to the Heritage Advisory Committee (HAC). Accompanying photos seemed to support the claims of an unsafe structure.

Since that time, numerous residents have become outspoken in an effort to preserve the structure. Letters of correspondence from le Comité du patrimoine bâti et religieux du Réseau du patrimoine franco-ontarien, and from Brunelle ancestor Marc-André Belcourt, were provided to council.

The public comments and support had council exploring options to digitally chronicle the house for archival preservation. However, planning and development administrative assistant Pamela Zimmerman hastily stepped into the conversation to provide extra information.

“I know that the owner has expressed through his agent that the property is not safe to enter," stated Zimmerman. "We recently received some photos from the agent where he managed to prop the front door open and take some interior pictures from there, and even from where he was standing he did not feel safe in the structure."

Zimmerman added that the property in general was considered so unsafe by the owner that a signed waiver had been requested for anyone entering the property.

A request was put forward by Coun. Cindy Hastings for the Culture Alliance to become involved for their cultural asset map.

"It's an opportunity for the descendants of this property, or neighbours," said Hastings, "to provide some stories and honour the property since we can't preserve it."

Council agreed to support the delisting of the property, and have the HAC in conjunction with the Culture Alliance seek public input regarding the most appropriate way to commemorate its heritage significance.

Also, council asked staff to contact the owner of 4 Potato Court with a request to possibly defer the demolition of the structure to allow public input.

The letters of correspondence regarding the property can be read as part of the agenda through the township website.

Archives of council meetings are available to view on Tiny Township’s YouTube channel.