Editor:
Through a partnership between the Halfmoon Bay Community Association and the SCRD, the federal and provincial governments have agreed to provide just over $2 million toward the building of a new community hall in Halfmoon Bay to replace the aging and undersized Coopers Green Hall. The project is estimated to cost about $3 million. The community association had committed to raising $300,000 as its share and has now exceeded this goal, with donations of $309,200 to date, plus pledges of a further $14,200. These donations have come from all areas of Halfmoon Bay, ranging in amounts from $25 to $10,000.
The remaining approximately $700,000 is the responsibility of the SCRD; some of this amount has been committed in the form of donations from run-of-the-river projects located in Halfmoon Bay. The association will continue to fundraise and to assist the SCRD with further support of in-kind donations from local businesses.
The Halfmoon Bay Community Association has been in operation since 1947 and had its own building until a few years ago. Since then its events have taken place at Coopers Green. In partnership with the SCRD an extensive public engagement took place between 2016 and 2018. Several public surveys were undertaken, and the SCRD commissioned a public task force in 2018 to look into possible alternative sites, ocean rise projections, parking concerns, design criteria, etc. As a result, the design priorities were confirmed, including the siting of the new hall on the present location, and were communicated to SCRD’s architect for refinement of the design. With the design, and a cost estimate, the SCRD developed a budget, which enabled the submission of the application for federal/provincial infrastructure funds in January 2019, which was ultimately successful.
There has been some concern raised about the ongoing cost of running and maintaining the new building. The community association has offered to assume the responsibility for the hall on a long-term basis and is prepared to contract with the SCRD to do this. This would involve making the hall available for all community groups. The community association is in a strong financial position to assume this responsibility.
A new Coopers Green Community Hall will be a fantastic asset for the entire Sunshine Coast and we would like to encourage everyone to take advantage of donation opportunities to turn this into reality.
Brian Smith, Board Member,
Halfmoon Bay Community Association
