GRAND BANK, N.L. — Residents made it abundantly clear at a public meeting in Grand Bank Monday evening, Feb. 10, what was lost when the town closed its municipal centre last spring.
Discussion of the need for community space dominated the two-hour meeting at the 50+ Club
Formerly Partanna Academy, the building that housed the town’s administrative services, had also become an important hub used by numerous community groups and organizations in Grand Bank.
“That’s where everybody did everything,” Tina Handrigan said of the shuttered municipal centre, kicking off the conversation.
“The whole community could be in that building. It’s a landmark to Grand Bank. Nobody wants to see it go. It was a great place for our youth, it was a great place for seniors to have meetings, dinners, what not.
“It had a kitchen, it had a gym, it had a games room, it had offices. Why tear down something that’s existing and put something new up?”
Rob Menchenton, an architect and partner in Fougere Menchenton Architecture Inc., led the consultation. The St. John’s-based firm has been hired by the Town of Grand Bank to complete a feasibility study on options for a new town hall.
Several options will be considered as part of the study, it was noted, including whether to construct a new building from scratch or to renovate an existing space in the town, one possibility being the abandoned municipal centre.
Menchenton called the public consultation the first step in the process to “help organize what is envisioned for a new town hall.”
The Town of Grand Bank shut the municipal centre last May out of safety and health concerns for staff. The roof and interior of the complex was damaged extensively during a winter storm in 2014 and the condition of the building continued to worsen over time.
The town is now renting 2,000 square feet of office space in the former federal building on Church Street at a cost of approximately $30,000 a year.
Menchenton said while the study’s primary consideration is a town hall, there is room to factor in other community needs.
“Even though it may not be town hall specific, a lot of what I heard so far, it does give us a lot of information going forward, whether it’s related to a town hall or not and how the end product might look 10 years from now,” he said.
“So, in other words, the first thing we have to deal with is a town hall, but is there a scenario where we can add on to it for the community space?”
Lawrence Whelan of the Department of Municipal Affairs was also present for the session. He spoke briefly to clarify the town hall options on the table.
Once Fougere Menchenton completes its study in a couple months, the company will hand over a report with its recommendations to town council, which will then decide how to proceed.
Three councillors were present for the session — Deputy Mayor Clayton Welsh, Councillor George Bennett and Councillor Stan Burt — but not in an official capacity. Welsh, when asked, however, did respond Fougere Menchenton’s report would be made public after it is received by the town.
What was said
“I, as a youth, am planning on moving away, going to university, getting a degree. I need a reason to want to come back to Grand Bank here. As of right now, there’s no reason for me to want to come back here. Because I’m 15 years old and I’m sitting around in my house all day. I’m bored and Grand Bank has nothing to offer me right now. But thinking long-term, what’s my sister going to want to do? Is my sister going to want to sit in her house all day? No, she’s going to want to go to a community space, which is what we need in this town.” – Kaelyn Gaulton
“I’d like to see the gym stay where it is now. I spent 14 years working and volunteering up there. The gym can be salvaged. Tear down the remainder of the building that’s no good. We’re going to be responsible for it anyway. Build on a small section next to that gym to house a town hall … and have some community space there for community groups. The Town of Grand Bank had been paying for a community centre that size for almost 20 years, and we’ve been debt-free and we’ve been in a great financial situation. So, if we can operate a smaller centre, and we build it and do it in a way that’s energy efficient, we’ll save money.” – Travis Parsons
“I think the long-term goal is you got to look at what your residents can afford and what (they) can’t afford. Now, when I grew up in Grand Bank … we had Scouts, Guides, Brownies, CGIT and all of it, and we didn’t have no gymnasium then. We did it all in our church auditorium. That’s where we all met, and if we needed a recreational facility, we went to the Partanna or the John Burke High.” – Jack Cumben
“Right now, I’m not here as me as a taxpayer, I’m here as me as a mother. I’ve got a two-year-old son. I’m looking at long-term. What is here for my child to stay here and things to do? … We as a community have to do something for our youth. Because right now if you realistically look at it, all of our industries that have people working there are all older people. I work in a fish plant. I know that 70 per cent of the workforce right now is 60-plus. Eventually to keep these places open the youth has got to come back, and you’re not drawing youth back without anything for their kids.” – Ashley Grandy
paul.herridge@southerngazette.ca
