Save Anmore Village Hall (02-01-16)

At June 16, 2015 Anmore Regular Council meeting, under Agenda item 11(d) New Business with reference to an invitation from MP James Moore to apply for a Canada 150 infrastructure grant, Council passed the following two resolutions.

1.”That the remaining funds of the $595,236 received from a local developer be used to construct a community space consistent with the developer’s intent in addition, any funds received through the Canada 150. Grant process would be applied to upgrade the Village Hall to accommodate community space.”

2. “That the Council of the Village of Anmore supports the Canada 150 grant application prepared by staff in the amount of 1,094,200.00 for the repair and upgrade of the Village Hall”.

At this time Councillor Weverink indicated that he was really happy with this proposal. It was proposed that the Village Hall be updated to serve as Council chambers, community meeting space, and a museum for archived material. Mayor McEwen indicated that this did not mean that the trailers will be removed and he said that there are some areas in the Village Hall that need to be replaced.

While former acting Chief Administrative Officer Karen Anne Cobb assured Council that the grant proposal was submitted on time, the Village did not receive funding for the repair and upgrade of the Village Hall before the Federal Election in October, 2015.

In a December 21, 2015 letter to Council from Anmore’s recently appointed Chief Administrative Officer Juli Kolby, she seeks “endorsement from Council in regards to the next steps for the Village Hall replacement, including the sealing off of the old Village Hall, renovation of the 2006 addition for immediate use and issuing an RFP for the design of the new Village Hall”.

In her letter she says,

"Although an important part of Anmore's past, the old Village Hall is not structurally sound. The work required to bring it up to code and ensure it is able to meet the needs as the emergency operations center for the village are cost prohibitive. It is more financially prudent to demolish the original building (including the enclosed garage), and build a new Village Hall. Any items of historic significance would be removed from the building prior to demolition and be showcased in the new Village Hall. Items of note are the stained-glass window in the Council Chambers, wood paneling in the Chief Administrative Officer's office, the post at the foot of the interior staircase leading to the second level, the beams outside the original entrance to the house, and some non-fixed items (such as the printing press). Consideration has been given to donating the old Village Hall to any interested party. However the building would not likely withstand the move given its compromised structural integrity. At this time it is not recommended that the village move forward with the demolition as it would be more economical to do so once a final design and site layout for the new Village Hall is complete.”

This recommendation does not appear to reflect some pertinent history relative to this recommendation:

  1. The 2008 Village referendum where 54.3% of the electorate rejected the following question by close to a 2 to 1 margin. "Are you in favour of the Village of Anmore adopting Anmore Day Care Facility/Community Centre Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 451-2008, which would authorize the borrowing of up to $1,263,000.00 to construct a Day Care Facility/Community Centre?"
  1. Expensive architectural Drawings for a Community Centre were completed by Atelier Pacific Architecture before the 2008 referendum using some of the money contributed by Smurthwaite developers. The project consists of a new two-storey building with offices, a large meeting hall, a fire place lounge, and a kitchen on the upper level, and with a daycare facility on the lower level. The use of stone, heavy timber, and shingle siding serves to assimilate the building into the surrounding neighbourhood.

  1. Although the Advisory Planning Commission Minutes of July 23, 2012 indicated that Council had identified the need to replace the Village Hall and add a Community Centre, a convenient crisis was created when the heritage designated Anmore Village Hall was vacated overnight in November 27 2012 and staff was moved into a temporary trailer ostensibly because of a ‘squirrel infestation’.
  1. No building inspection or exterminator recommendation was done until February 2013. At this time, Emerald Inspection and Consulting Ltd. Completed the only detailed building inspection which recommended that the Village develop a priority plan and undertake targeted repairs and maintenance to get the building completely up to commercial standing - probable cost $663,750.
  1. The current estimate for a new Village Hall/Community Centre stands at 2.5 million. The cost to buy (not rent) the current administrative trailers was reported at approximately $300,000 and the cost for insurance, hydro, heating etc on the vacated Village Hall was around $1000 a month.