It’s been a long time coming, but the fundraising is completed for the much anticipated renovations to the Muenster Community Centre. In fact, the fundraising campaign proved so successful that the original plan for a wheelchair lift to both the upper and lower levels of the hall has been upgraded to an elevator.
Board Chair Miles Jorgenson has seen the project through since the beginning, mounting a successful scrap metal drive that was a primary roadside feature of his farmyard for several seasons. Now with the scrap cleared away and the dollars collected, the work can begin in earnest.
“The hall was built more than 50 years ago, and like so many similar halls, the kitchen was in the basement, the main dance floor was upstairs, and nothing was on ground level,” explains Jorgenson. “We started raising funds for a stair lift in 2019. We revisited the cost of a stair lift and we could upgrade to an elevator for not that much more additional money.”
In addition to the metal drive, the Community Centre applied for a number of provincial and municipal grants, and it was successful in bolstering the funds.
The entire project is expected to come in at around $100,000, and much of the electrical work, carpentry, and finishing work will provide local contractors with employment during the project.
“We still have six to eight weeks to update the tender, so we may not see much action until the fall, but we’d like to have it completed by December,” said Jorgenson. “It should be around a 20 week window for the project from the tendering to completion.”
While the pandemic has interrupted the usual community gatherings in and around Muenster, the Community Centre has been able to cater to the occasional regional group who continues to operate within COVID guidelines. Such a group is a karate club from Humboldt who has been able to take advantage of the hall’s ample space to keep its operations going within the current health guidelines. Schools and other civic centres have been off limits, but with a strict regimen of cleaning, such groups willing to come to Muenster have found a home at the hall.
The heart of a community is often its hall, and of course, its people. Soon, the community hall in Muenster will be able to accommodate all of the citizens and the many guests who visit for sporting, cultural, and family events without concern for mobility issues.
Orginal article taken from : https://www.discoverhumboldt.com/local/muenster-community-hall-set-for-installation-of-accessibility-elevator March 26, 2021.
