The people of Granthams Landing will have to wait to find out the fate of one of the Coast’s last heritage buildings.
On Jan. 18, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) infrastructure committee recommended deferring a report outlining the funding plan for the refurbishment of Granthams Landing Community Hall.
The hall, which was built as a church in 1931 by community volunteers, was closed in 2015 because of structural problems with the roof and foundation. The SCRD owns the hall and has been working on a plan to pay for the renovations.
Last December, SCRD staff were informed that the SCRD was declined a grant from Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Cultural Spaces Fund program, which would have helped cover the cost of the fixes. This was the last in a string of unsuccessful attempts at securing major grants to fund the project.
As a result, staff revised the funding plan to include $238,600 in short-term borrowing, as well as $100,000 in Independent Power Project Community Amenity Contributions, and $66,400 from West Howe Sound’s Gas Tax Community Works Fund, with the total cost to fix the hall at $405,000.
Some members were hesitant to support the funding mix on the grounds that it’s too expensive. Frank Mauro, director for Area A, suggested that the community could do some fundraising to support the reconstruction and improvements, and noted that Egmont’s community hall, which is not owned by the SCRD, is community-supported. “I look at this and I don’t see a lot of community involved in this,” he said.
Ian Winn, director for West Howe Sound, where Granthams Hall is located, expressed his disappointment that the federal government rejected the application and said he may follow up with MP Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, acknowledging that she did provide a letter of support for the grant.
He also said the SCRD “has been remiss in not fulfilling that duty of care,” given that SCRD funds the maintenance of other halls, including Coopers Green Hall, Chaster House, Frank West Hall and Eric Cardinal Hall.
“All of those other halls have had regular maintenance done on them ever since SCRD took ownership of them. Grantham Hall has been neglected in prior years to the point where it had to be closed,” he said.
The SCRD board will finalize the recommendation to defer at its next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 25.
