by George Le Masurier | Jul 8, 2016
When he died in 1982, well-known Canadian naturalist Hamilton Mack Laing left his possessions, his property and house,and his money to the Town of Comox. His Last Will specified that some of the money be used to create a natural history museum in his house and to invest the other funds.
The town has not fulfilled either of those wishes, raising serious ethical and legal questions.
Why didn’t the Town of Comox follow the terms of Hamilton Mack Laing’s trust after the naturalist’s death in 1982, and turn his Shakesides home into some type of natural history museum? Why didn’t that council immediately invest the $45,000 that Laing left for the town to fund those terms?
Has the town spent money from the trust on items that aren’t authorized by the trust’s provisions? If the town had no intention to follow the terms of the trust, why did it accept Laing’s money?
We can ask these questions of every Comox Town Council and mayor since 1982, because they have all had the opportunity to fulfill the terms of the trust.
But the current Comox Town Council hopes to convince a B.C. court to change the terms of the trust to allow the demolition of Shakesides and relieve the town from restrictions on how to use Laing’s money.
Councillors might reasonably argue they are following the recommendation of an advisory committee report that concluded, on a 3-2 vote, the house should be demolished. But two members of the advisory committee say the process was flawed, and they issued a minority report.
The minority report, signed by Angela Burns and Mark Ouellette, presents a picture of a corrupted process that did not address two of its three assigned goals. In fact, they claim the committee chair refused to allow discussions related to those terms of reference. You can read the minority report here and draw your own conclusions.
Laing would be disappointed that what he intended as a wonderful gift to a community he loved has turned into a sordid affair.
But the Town Council has created an impression that they don’t care about getting to the bottom of this story. They don’t question why the money was mishandled or how it was spent. And no councillor has fully addressed the ethical issues.
A reporter has quoted Mayor Paul Ives as saying, “That was then, this is now.” It’s a foolish statement meant to deflect any moral imperative to correct the wrong perpetrated by the Town of Comox for 34 years.
If the federal government followed this logic, Ottawa would try to ignore the land claims by Canada’s First Nations people. By accepting the money from Mack Laing’s estate, the Town of Comox accepted the terms of his trust. But, to date, the town has mostly ignored them.
It’s understandable that the town wants to move forward and bring this saga to a close. But it has a responsibility to consider all the reasonable options. You can read about one idea here, or here.
Council believes a modern interpretation of Laing’s ideas can be accomplished by returning the property to its natural state, because, they say, he was a naturalist.
It’s a silly means of justifying the demolition. If the town actually returned the land to its “natural state,” they’d rip out the bridges, walkways, signs, stairs and other human additions and let the property go wild. That’s it’s true natural state.
Vancouver author Richard Mackie lived in the Shakesides house for several months following Laing’s death. A friend of Laing’s, Mackie packaged up Laing’s drawings and writings and notes. He said the house at that time was “beautifully maintained.”
The Town of Comox, however, says Laing didn’t leave enough money to convert the house into a museum in 1982 and maintains that contention today. The town has done few, if any, repairs over the years. They say the house is in such bad shape that it’s unsuitable for public use and must be torn down.
Responding to letter from Citizen of the Year Ruth Masters in 2001, Comox financial officer Steve Ternent (at the time of the letter) wrote to administrator Helen Dale, in part, that “No natural history museum involving the house has been established to date because the house is old, inadequately powered, poorly insulated and subject to flooding in the basement. It would not be suitable for the use suggested in the will;” that is, a public use.
In Ternent’s description, the house sounds horrible and inhabitable. But that didn’t stop the town from renting the house for 31 years, right up until 2013 — another 12 years after Ternent’s description.
Or, has the town exaggerated the condition of Shakesides to make its case for demolition? A visual examination by a structural engineering firm in December of 2015 found that despite issues related to 34 years of neglect, the structure “has performed adequately to date.”
The firm concluded that, “Provided the building envelope is repaired, structural repairs completed and the loads on the building are unchanged, the building structure will continue to perform adequately in the future.”
However, it appears that the Laing Trust has funded trails, stairs and walkways, none of which Laing referenced. Now the town may use Laing’s money to modify the terms of his trust. And they’re threatening critics that any money the town spends on defending its actions will just drag the fund down further.
But isn’t that in itself a misuse of the funds?
by George Le Masurier | Jul 8, 2016
Questions about the Town of Comox’s handling of the Mack Laing Trust are not new. Citizens expressed concern many years ago, including Comox Valley Citizen of the Year Ruth Masters.
In April of 2001, she wrote to then Mayor George Kirkwood and councillors asking for financial information related to the trust and suggesting that some of the Laing funds had been used for inappropriate purposes.
Here is Master’s letter:
by George Le Masurier | Jun 22, 2016
Hamilton Mack Laing has probably turned over in his grave more than once since his death in 1982.
Because if the famous Canadian naturalist, photographer and writer suddenly came alive today, he’d be shocked and angry at how the Town of Comox has fumbled his gift of property and cash.
When Laing died in 1982, he left the town, among other personal items, his waterfront property, his home named Shakesides, and the residue cash from his estate “for the improvement and development of my home as a natural history museum.”
Thirty-four years later, the Town of Comox has done little to satisfy the last wishes of this important literary and ornithological person. It’s shameful how the town has claimed Laing’s celebrity, but ignored his desires for a legacy.
The residue cash from Laing’s estate was $45,000, a sizable sum in 1982. His will specified that 25 percent should be used for capital improvements to his home and the remaining 75 percent should be invested to help fund the ongoing operating expenses of a natural history museum.
… an analysis of the fund by Kent Moeller, CPA, of Moeller Matthews in Campbell River, shows the trust fund should be worth $481,548 today.
But the town ignored the terms of Laing’s gift as specified in his Last Will.
The town did not spend $11,250 on capital improvements to his home. Instead, it rented the dwelling starting in 1982 , shortly after Laing died, at a curiously low rate. It’s done minimal maintenance on the house.
Nor did the town immediately invest the remaining $33,750. The town only started investing Laing’s fund in 2001, so for almost 19 years the money earned no interest.
The town has not created a natural history museum, but has profited from sales of prints of Laing’s drawings and paintings, and his collection of original Allen Brooks paintings.
This is no way to respect a noted North American naturalist.
For the last few years, members of the Comox Town Council have discussed what to do with the Shakesides house, and Laing’s original home, called Baybrook, which he sold to the Stubbs family and was later acquired by the town. The town demolished Baybrook last year, and is considering a similar fate for Shakesides.
The justification is, of course, that restoring Shakesides into a usable public facility would cost too much and, the town claims, and there’s only $76,672 in the Laing Trust Fund.
But an analysis of the fund by Kent Moeller, CPA, of Moeller Matthews in Campbell River, shows the trust fund should be worth $481,548 today. He used figures released by the town and conservatively calculated interest rates.
Moeller suggests that if the town had immediately invested all of Laing’s bequeathed cash plus the rental income, it would have nearly a half-million dollars in the trust fund.
Moellar’s analysis changes the nature of the town’s recent discussions about what to do with Shakesides and how to honor one of its legendary former residents. It’s a different argument when you’re talking about $481,548, rather than $76,672.
Shakesides could be renovated for about $150,000, according to a quote from a Comox Valley builder, and the remaining funds could continue to grow and help pay operating expenses of a natural history museum as Laing specified in his will.
There’s a solid justification for the view that the town owes the Laing Trust Fund $404,876.
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The view from Shakesides
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At least he got a plaque
But just as important as the fate of Shakeside’s and actuarial debate over what should be the trust fund’s present value, are the ethical considerations.
What responsibility does the Town of Comox have to follow through on the last wishes of any person who leaves a municipality cash, property or other items of significant value?
While the failure to follow through originated with the elected councillors and staff of the Town of Comox in 1982, the gift was to the town itself, not to any temporary combination of individual staff or elected representatives. That makes the town responsible, and all elected officials since 1982.
If the town had good reasons not to follow through on Laing’s last wishes, was it appropriate for them to keep the residue cash on their general ledger? Was any of the money spent improperly, for purposes that do not qualify under the terms of the trust? Moeller notes that $15,600 of unidentified capital expenses were taken from the account.
If the town decided not to respect Laing’s last wishes, should it have transferred the funds to some other community organization willing to take on the transformation of Shakesides to a natural history museum?
The Town of Comox must address these questions in its deliberations about the fate of Shakesides.
Laing was not only a prominent Comox resident, he was a generous one. He gave the Town of Comox his home, his property — now valued at over $1.6 million — and his collection of artwork, which he hoped would be used to create a natural history museum.
It’s wrong that his gift has been handled so carelessly. It’s time to atone.
