J.J. Gaetz House in Red Deer. (rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

precious city amenities

Work underway to upgrade J.J. Gaetz House, and Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary trail

Mar 14, 2024 | 3:38 PM

The operation of Red Deer’s historic J.J. Gaetz House is undergoing a shift.

Built in 1914 in the city’s Michener area, directly east of the Red Deer Cemetery, the home is the subject of a Request for Proposals (RFP) going out in the next couple weeks to seek a new operator.

City Parks Superintendent John Eastwood says the future of the house revolves around its location.

“The J.J. Gaetz House has quite a history,” says Eastwood. “The intent is to reactivate the house and property in such a way that community programming and/or environmental programming could be a possibility. With an RFP, it’s up to the potential suitors to put in their proposals and for the city to entertain whoever it is that’s bidding.”

The house is currently boarded up and fenced off from the public, but Eastwood says once the RFP process is done, the City has an approved budget to update it.

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“This place was a homestead, it’s an original piece of city history, and from a Parks standpoint, we hold that near and dear when it comes to the outcome and how we want programming to be there,” he says.

Eastwood points out adjacent sites, such as the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary and the Michael O’Brien Wetland should give another indication as to what to expect at J.J. Gaetz House once the RFP process is complete.

“It’s already nested into a pretty good environment and we want to capitalize on that to see what we can have offered to citizens.”

Todd Nivens, executive director with the Waskasoo Environmental Education Centre, which operates the nearby Kerry Wood Nature Centre, confirms his organization is interested in applying to the RFP.

“Given that the property is right next to the sanctuary and we operate environmental education and conservation programming throughout the sanctuary and parks system, we are absolutely interested in being part of the RFP process once it’s issued to the public,” says Nivens.

According to the Alberta Register of Historic Places, J.J. Gaetz House was the home of John Jost (Jack) Gaetz (1859-1937), an extended member of Red Deer’s founding family. Jack Gaetz served as Red Deer’s MLA from 1918 to 1921, and later sat on the University of Alberta senate.

The house was acquired by the province in 1973 to be used as part of the nearby institution. The City purchased it in 2020.

The J.J. Gaetz House is a Municipal Designated Heritage Site under the Historic Resources Act.

MORE STAIRS ON THE WISHART

This picture shows an area of trail failure within the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary, caused by heavy rainfall in June 2022. (Waskasoo Environmental Education Society/Todd Nivens)

Meantime, work is underway to realign a portion of the Wishart Trail damaged by rain in 2022.

The loop is situated within the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary, behind the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, and at its highest point, is in fact not very far from J.J. Gaetz House.

Lee Birn, City Infrastructure Management Superintendent, says when heavy rainfall caused the slump failure, an abandoned sewer line running underneath the trail at that location was discovered.

“There was some leakage due to that water that had saturated it. We had a consultant do an assessment and evaluation, which found the area was prone to some instabilities,” he explains.

“Last fall, a contractor sealed off the old abandoned pipe, but knowing that the slope would still be subject to some instability over time, the decision was made to relocate a portion of the trail around the failed area.”

That will mean a healthy stretch of new stairs.

This picture shows the area of trail that failed, with the abandoned pipe exposed, in June 2022. (Waskasoo Environmental Education Society/Todd Nivens)

Birn says there shouldn’t be too much in the way of closures on the trail, with construction anticipated to start and finish this fall.

Before that happens, the City is seeking a contractor to do the work.

The project budget, including work on the pipe, consulting and construction of the new stairs, is about $835,000.

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