The Friends of the Estonian House have thus far held some successful bakes sales and spent this on paint, etc. However, from what I understand, thus far only some tens of thousands of dollars have been raised. Perhaps they could publish what has been raised (i.e, landed in their bank account), so we have tangible figures to look at. What is needed is millions. However, neither a paint job, nor even a new roof, are sufficient to save the Eesti Maja. It has very major issues requiring a very significant capital infusion. Furthermore, I attach a low likelihood of its ever having a business model allowing for sustainability. Businesses pay premium amounts for Class A meeting space. The Eesti Maja, even with significant amounts spent on it, is never going to be Class A from a physical perspective. Nor will it have a location equivalent to Madison, which would allow it to attract business during daytime hours when the Estonians themselves do not need the space. It's time to stop being sentimental about the place (I do have a soft spot for it), and move on.

The Madison Avenue space has as its primary purpose to benefit the community. The Esto House is empty 80% - 90% most of the time. The place bustles on Saturday mornings and that is about it. It's empty, yet expenses on an empty space still have to be covered. It's all about having a sustainable business plan (which isn't going to happen on Broadview because of both the Class C character of the space and the poor location), and have those using the space when the Esto's don't want and/or need it, to generate the revenues to fund the community use. The Esto's need to/can be clever. It's self evident that there is an ability to leverage a Class A/prime Madison location. This ability is not available with a Class C poorly situated Broadview location. Let the Esto's be kavalad. This trait has served them well over the centuries.

I find it amazing how EH Board has taken NO accountability for the 7+ years of gross negligence towards the up keep of the Esto House.
As for "prime" location - why is the City letting go of this "prime" downtown site? Because the City knows it has limited money earning potential due to the subway running directly through the site and height restrictions. Not so Kaval.

We are where we are with respect to 958 Broadview. Instead of looking at the past, let's get to a solution. Let's be forward thinking. But let's stop and look at our own behaviour. How many of us rented a hall at 958 in the past decade and contributed to its revenues? I did. Did you?

Ah...the art of deflection ...and YES, I have rented the halls.
All prime, half acre downtown sites are roughly 3.0 to 7 million depending on location and municipal services to the site. The City is asking approx. 1.5 - 2 million for this site. Why? I hardly believe the City is giving this “prime” lot away because it wants to be nice. The City is in the business of making money, even on its surplus lots. You know the old saying “if it looks too good to be true” ...

If you want to vent about the EM Juhatus, please do so. I am not deflecting. I think that venting is futile and doesn't contribute to a solution. EM has been in a death spiral for a considerable period. A virtually non-existent bottom line means that capital repairs and maintenance have been deferred. The facility becomes less and less attractive. Thus, it is difficult to attract paying customers. Thus it goes. My recollection of what Kongats said at the Town Hall was that a restoration could be as expensive as a new build. One day that 19th Century boiler is going to go, and then there will be a panic seeking funds for the emergency repairs. If not the boiler, than another of the costly capital upgrades or repairs that have been deferred. I think that it is great that you have been a paying customer of EM. Most shareholders have not. I believe that consolidation is appropriate, and the Madison Avenue solution has legs.

The year was 1998 or 1999, when about 20 minutes after a bridge club event dispersed from the väike saal, the ceiling collapsed. And not just one ceiling, but 3 successive ceilings that well-intentioned handymen had nailed up with ever shorter nails over the years. Had the saal not been vacant, death and grevious injury would have been the result. The number of such calamities-in-waiting start with the heating system which is a set of patchwork repairs held together by spit and hope and which will lead to opening up walls that are riddled with asbestos. The whole house will need to be shut down and evacuated and the funds for those repairs is proposed by the 'stay-at-all-costs-we'll-go-down-with-this-ship'...grant monies that have all kinds of conditions attached to them making us beholden to third parties... and passing the hat around to the dwindling community that only pays for use of the house for peied. Then the plumbing systems that are corroded throughout will blow through the basement wall, the electrical systems with again, a well-intentioned handyman left a live wire in the wall that shifted over time and shorted, causing a fire in the manager's office in Ülo Isberg's day, then the roof that doesn't need a new set of shingles, it needs a re-build. Not hundreds of thousands of dollars, this is millions that is hanging like the Sword of Damocles. Tõmbab noka lahti saba jääb kinni, tõmbab saba lahti nokk jääb kinni, tõmbab noka lahti... In other words, this article speaks to a desperate plea that is, contrary to its own protests, all about sentimentality, not about good governance. You can't keep the heart alive when it's encased in a corpse. You need to transplant before the organ donor card expires.

In the news today: hundreds of Toronto Community Housing (TCH) units expected to close. Why? Mismanagement and not enough funds for maintenance of buildings.

Sound familiar? Subsequent Estonian House boards had no vision for our house and ran it into the ground for years and years and years. No substantial upgrades or additions to make it attractive to renters, no capital campaigns to fund it.

Where is the accountability?

Wherever the new house will be build (Madison, Broadview or elsewhere), how can we have a plan in place so that the next one doesn’t get run into the ground?

Are the Estonians going to be priced out of renting the spaces to pay for maintenance of the glass building that will have a hefty heating bill on Madison?

We need a continuous capital campaign for building upkeep, improvements and additions, so that we can afford to rent the new building ourselves.

See how our potential EH neighbours keep their centre going:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

“The BJCC was run by a non-profit charitable organization funded through UJA Federation, United Way, the government, fees and private support”.

THIS IS WHAT THE ESTONIAN HOUSE BOARD SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING ALL THESE YEARS!

Start will positive intent. Leave insults and egos at the door. Look forward with vision and collaboration. Work together to build something great. Follow in the footsteps of those who came before us to help the Toronto Estonian community flourish, not tear it apart. So sadly baffled by the callous comments and in-fighting that will serve to divide and ultimately lead to our own demise.

We are at a critical juncture. Cooperation is required, not the casting of stones at the 3Orgs who have a proposal. Talk is cheap - those opposing the 3Orgs haven't tabled anything tangible. Lots of wishful thinking. I am entirely astonished at those who have not read the Special Resolution. It specifically outlines next steps (including the necessary due diligence). Perhaps the critics should reread this until they understand what the proposal is.

Due diligence refers to the activity and costs associated with investigating/analyzing of a proposed undertaking. if you look at last week's Globe, there's an article about the 2 CIBC Head Office towers that are to be built to the east of Union Station. There's to be a POPS (Privately Owned Public Space) - just as the City wants at Madison. And the whole process took 10 years to get to this stage. These are the time lines with development activities. You can bet that there are associated costs. Just like with Eesti Maja. Better to spend some money on due diligence rather than jumping in without the appropriate analysis and/or investigation.