Belle Vue Conservancy dissolves with money collected disbursed

The Belle Vue Conservancy has recently shut down and distributed its funds to other non-profit organizations in the Amherstburg area.

With negotiations ongoing regarding the possible sale of the Belle Vue property, the group that fundraised for the historic mansion’s preservation is no more.

The Belle Vue Conservancy (BVC) has folded, in large part due to the decision made by the Town of Amherstburg to divest itself of the Dalhousie St. property and enter into negotiations in an attempt to do so.

“For tax purposes, we are finished,” said Shirley Curson-Prue, who chaired the BVC. “We followed all the rules for charities. According to Revenue Canada, a charity disburses its money to other charities. That’s exactly what we did.”

“We can’t return donations because people have already received tax receipts,” added BVC member Bonnie Deslippe.

Major donors were consulted beforehand, Curson-Prue added, with the BVC’s money and other assets, such as prints of the Belle Vue mansion, distributed to non-profit museums and organizations in Amherstburg. 

Those organizations included the Marsh Historical Collection, the Gibson Gallery, the Amherstburg Freedom Museum and the Park House Museum.

“When the council of the town made the determination to sell the property, that was the end of the road for us,” Curson-Prue explained. 

The role of the BVC was to fundraise, she added, while the town was to seek grants.

“We didn’t have a role anymore,” added Robert Honor, who was a member of the conservancy with wife Debra. “We weren’t going to raise money if a private company was going to own it.”

The ideal outcome for the Belle Vue Conservancy would see a conference centre brought to the site.

The BVC’s vision was not just a conference centre, but that the historic building itself would house a dining room and reception with the actual conference centre to be built nearby on the site.

“We never saw (the mansion) as the conference centre as such,” said Curson-Prue.

The former BVC members questioned the timing of their involvement in the property disposal process, believing they should have been invited sooner than what they were. 

They are still awaiting word, as is the rest of the community, on what is happening with the negotiations with the Amico/Loop group.

“We still have no idea what is happening,” said Deslippe.

The BVC’s fundraisers included a window sponsorship program, dinners, golf tournaments and the solicitation of donations, among other methods. 

Curson-Prue said a substantial federal grant was close to happening in early 2020 and that would have played a huge role in restoring the site.

One of their major accomplishments was fundraising for a new roof on the building.

“We raised money to fix the house,” said Curson-Prue. 

Working with heritage architects, the BVC had been advised the roof needed replacing “so we did it.”

“It cost a fair amount of money,” she said.

Robert added “we preserved the building” thanks to the new roof. Noting it is one of two building in Canada with a Palladian architecture, Robert said the BVC’s effort helped prolong the life of the building through their fundraising for the new roof.

Robert has just written a book “Belle Vue: Then and Now” and is giving it to colleagues and historians about the building itself. 

Debra published “The Lives That Touched Belle Vue Amherstburg” about the people who lived there.

Both Debra and BVC colleague Meg Reiner state awareness about the house was raised through their research. 

The BVC was founded in 2017, though its roots dated further back to 2009 when the Friends of Belle Vue was created. 

Regarding the latter, Robert recalled that group’s initial meeting.

“Our first meeting was upstairs at the Park House,” he said.

Another accomplishment for the conservancy was becoming an incorporated charity. That allowed them to issue their own tax receipts, thus allowing the conservancy to deal with the matter directly.

Members of the BVC were disappointed on how things ended but leave with their head held high.

“Everything we did was honourable and for that building,” said Curson-Prue. “Every single thing we did was by the book.”

“It’s sad it ends this way,” added Deslippe.

The Belle Vue mansion is located at 525 Dalhousie St. in Amherstburg.

Belle Vue Conservancy dissolves with money collected disbursed

By Ron Giofu