March 25, 2003

Mayor Alex Galbraith and Hinton Town Council members

Over the past several months, a group of concerned citizens have come together to form a group to preserve the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Station House.  This group has met a number of times with councillors Glen Taylor and Rick Armstrong to determine possibilities concerning the preservation of Hinton’s oldest building.

Since the initial meetings, a steering committee has been formed and at the last meeting, on March 22nd, a name was decided on. 

This name is the "Train Station Preservation Steering Committee".

At that meeting the committee also developed goals and strategies concerning the preservation of the Hinton GTPR Station House.

 The Mission Statement;

    - The committee is dedicated to the preservation of the Hinton GTPR Station House.

This group has developed Goals;

    - to prevent the demolition of the station house building.

    - to preserve historical integrity and promote future use of the station.

    - to partner with community groups.      

The committee is asking the Mayor and Hinton Town Council for “support for this community cultural project and for support and partnership with departments in the Town of Hinton administration, to work with the preservation steering committee in reaching their goals.

 A commitment of support from Hinton Town Council is very important for this dedicated group of volunteers to move forward. There is a tight time frame concerning the preservation group’s purchase of the building from VIA Rail Canada for $1.00. The deadline concerning this offer to the committee is mid April.

Included with this letter requesting support for this important cultural project is information on the Goals and Strategies developed, a list of committee members and supporters, history of the station house, letters of support for the project, Valemount station preservation project information, projected funding information as well as additional information pertaining to the project.

The delegation representing the Train Station Preservation Steering Committee looks forward to meeting with Council on April 1, 2003 for a presentation on this project.

Thank you,

Lorraine Johnston-MacKay

Chair, Train Station Preservation Steering Committee