Jane Emerick
Special to The Chief
A tenant renting a house from the BC Mining Museum will soon be looking for a new place to live.
The B.C. Mining Museum has changed its previous plans and decided to evict the tenant in light of new information the Sea to Sky highway construction will eventually result in the destruction of the house.
"Originally we thought the highway wasn't going to impact the house, but on second look it didn't make sense to do the (electrical) repairs," said mining museum director Kirstin Clausen.
Two weeks ago, the tenant, who works for the museum, was told he would be able to stay in the house, with the museum picking up the tab for the needed electrical repairs.
Recently, the 99er Restaurant, which neighbours the house, was forced to close after owners refused to pay for the electrical repairs on the building they were leasing from the museum.
Clausen said to invest the money in the electrical repairs and have the house destroyed in six months, would be a waste of money for the non-profit organization.
As a result, the tenant, who could not be reached for comment, will be evicted.
Clausen said the museum is using the money they were going to spend on electrical repairs to help the tenant move and get settled in his new place.
"We believe we have offered him a fair cash in hand offering to acknowledge the quickness of the move," said Clausen. "We are very sensitive to the community and we want to work with everyone, but rather than be disrespectful to the electrical inspector we chose to ask him to leave, with some money."
Clausen said the highway would have eventually come within 15 feet of the house and it would have been "squeezed too tight." She said the Galileo Coffee House and Roastery would be safe because it was approximately 50 feet further back than the residence.
