When will Granthams Community Hall reopen?

The SCRD closed Granthams Landing Community Hall in March 2015 over concerns about public safety. Despite assurances that the hall will be renovated, the SCRD has no funds for the renovation at this time.

The Regional District has not yet received responses to two provincial and federal grants it applied for at the end of 2016. If the grants are denied, the SCRD will keep applying for other ones, Karen Preston, manager of recreation and community partnerships at the SCRD, said recently.

The project cannot go to tender until the funds are in place.

The SCRD acquired the hall in 2008. It was clear then that the 86-year-old building needed upgrades and renovations. In February of 2009, the cost was estimated at $200,000.

Since it became a community hall in 1943, it has been used at least three times a week for meetings, community events, dances, weddings, dance and music classes, bingo, and yoga. It has such an important role in the community that the West Howe Sound Official Community Plan regards Granthams Hall as a Public Heritage Property. Since 2009, it is also included in the SCRD Community Heritage Register.

“What the community wants is for the hall to reopen as soon as possible,” said Mark Giltrow, chair of the Granthams Hall Building Committee.

“The hall is sitting empty and deteriorating,” added Granthams Landing resident Karen Careless, who used to handle bookings for the hall. “We need to use it for potlucks, meetings, and fun things for the community. And the longer it takes, the more money it’s going to cost.”

Since 2009, the SCRD has studied the problems at the hall. The list is long and includes problems with geological stability, the environment, the septic system, the washrooms, fire safety, parking, plumbing, and electrical. According to two consultants, a new foundation is needed and the roof should be replaced.

The total cost is currently estimated at more than $300,000, consultant fees not included.

Contractor Jack Jory, who lives in Granthams Landing, was so eager for the hall to reopen that he was willing to do the work according to SCRD specifications with volunteers from the community. To make this possible, he took out liability insurance and registered with the Workman’s Compensation Board at the end of 2015, all at his own expense. “We have enough qualified tradespeople here to do this,” he said. “I wanted to make this happen.”

Giltrow is not sure if volunteers should undertake the whole renovation. “The building is property of the SCRD. They should do the work.” Community volunteers could do small finishing jobs like painting or installing kitchen cabinets, he said.

When the work will commence is not known, Ian Winn, regional director for Area F, wrote in a recent email. Preston said the SCRD is looking at the end of this year for the hall to reopen.