A non-profit group aiming to restore the historic Presqu’ile Point Lighthouse on Lake Ontario says it has been defrauded of thousands of dollars by one of its own board members.
Dave Sharp, chairperson of the Presqu’le Point Lighthouse Preservation Society, says on Thursday morning an unnamed board member sent him an email about the fraud totalling at least $55,000.
“He did admit to the situation,” Sharp told CHEX News via Skype from Fort Myers, Fla.
“He has admitted that he has done damage to the lighthouse and that we won’t be happy about it.”
Sharp immediately checked the PPLPS’s bank account and discovered it was empty.
Sharp immediately notified Northumberland OPP.
“At this point it’s $55,000 but we need to go back and review all of our deposits and go back even further to make sure there’s not earlier ones because the $55,000 is only from September 1,” said Sharp.
The PPLS is aiming to restore the lighthouse located on Lake Ontario in Presqu’ile Provincial Park in Brighton, about 90 kilometres south of Peterborough. Built in 1840, the 69-foot tall lighthouse served vessels on the lake and has been a tourist attraction for years.
The restoration project started in 2013 and has included two major engineering studies which have led to the removal of basement contaminants, replacement of shingles and repairs to the original limestone. The majority of the project has been funded by public and private donations.
The total cost of the project is estimated at between $1.2 million and $1.4 million.
“We took the shingles completely off — they were only the second set of shingles ever on the lighthouse,” said Sharp.
Before the alleged fraud, the project was facing a $12,500 shortfall which saw the society in December make a request to the municipality of Brighton for additional support. Sharp said the request is still being reviewed by town staff as part of the budget preparations.
Sharp couldn’t comment on whether the missing funds can be replaced but says it likely means the restoration work won’t be completed this year as planned.
“Shock, disbelief … how can it happen?” said Sharp. “We’ve had so many volunteers spend hundreds of hours and so many community people, businesses, organizations, national head offices give us support.
“It’s very disturbing to myself and the rest of the board to see this has happened when so many people worked so hard to get to the point where we thought we could finish the project in 2018.”
Over the last four days, Sharp says he’s been inundated with offers of support from people and organizations planning their own fundraisers to help recover the money.
“We’ve had a band, an artist, a lady from Cobourg commissioning a lighthouse sculpture to help us,” said Sharp. “Then there’s the dollars — the $5, the $100, the $500 donations that are starting to come in. I feel good about that. I’m feeling so confident the general public is there to support us once again.”
Northumberland OPP are investigating but said it’s too early to comment on the case. No charges have been laid.
Sharp says the seven-member board will continue its work and review its own policies.
“What we do is go nowhere but up — we got a 69-foot lighthouse to complete,” said Sharp. “Our board was a small, closely knit group. We trusted our partners — that trust failed to materialize in this particular instance — we’re saddened by that,” he said.
“But we’re also determined to put that behind us and work much harder over the next several months to make sure that project gets completed for our community.
- 14-year-olds accused in Halifax homicide appear in court, bail hearing set
- 2 teens charged with murder in case of 16-year-old killed outside Halifax mall
- Cars torched, explosions heard in suspected arson in Montreal neighbourhood
- Green Party deputy leader given jail sentence for Fairy Creek old-growth protests
Comments