Residents at a May 13 meeting regarding the future of Granthams Hall were passionate about saving the 84-year-old “hall that has a heart.”
Originally built as a church in 1931, the building and the land it sits on was sold to the Granthams community in 1993. The community group kept up the hall and put much volunteer work into it, but in 2009 made the decision to turn over the facility and the land to the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD).
Despite regular use, the building fell into disrepair and a structural engineering report commissioned by the SCRD earlier this year found severe deficiencies in the roof and foundation. The SCRD then closed the hall due to the risk to public safety.
A meeting to discuss the future of Granthams Hall was held on May 13 at Eric Cardinal Hall and a capacity crowd came out to have their say.
Although several options were presented by the SCRD, ranging from keeping the hall closed but standing as a heritage site to building a completely new hall, the majority of those in attendance wanted the old hall fixed and made usable again.
Many wanted the price tag to be as low as possible, with one man noting, “We don’t need a grand hotel. We just want our hall back.”
Getting the hall up to code and safe again would likely cost about $467,000, according to the SCRD’s option three, presented at the meeting.
That bill will likely need to be paid, at least partially, by the community.
SCRD directors Garry Nohr (Halfmoon Bay) and Frank Mauro (Pender Harbour - Egmont) told those at the meeting how community hall building projects in their areas have included various forms of grant funding and community fundraising.
“We are not Pender Harbour or Halfmoon Bay. Granthams is not a wealthy community, and we are very small,” one woman stated.
“My worry is how we’re going to pay for the hall to be fixed and what the expectations of the SCRD are.”
West Howe Sound director Ian Winn assured his constituents the plan was not to get the community to foot the bill.
“Just so you’re aware, we don’t have expectations that there’s going to be big demands on the community for any funding on this,” Winn said.
He explained the next steps, which included a report going back to the SCRD in June for some direction by the board.
“I would like to come back to this group by the end of June and say ‘this is what we’ve heard. The message is loud and clear. The board has talked about it, the board has worked with staff and here’s some scenarios that we think are the ones you’d be happy with for the hall.’ So that’s the timeframe for it,” Winn said.
“I guess I’m trying to get the point across that I don’t want it to drag on and go another six months or a year.”
The SCRD will accept feedback on the future of Granthams Hall from the community until the end of May. The feedback form and information on the various options proposed by the SCRD are available online at www.scrd.ca
