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Battleford to consult on vacant town hall space

Jul 21, 2017 | 2:00 PM

The Town of Battleford will be starting a public consultation process that will look into some possible future uses for the vacant space in the historic town hall building.

A committee had previously been formed that supported the idea of creating an opera house and had fundraised for the project. In time for the 100th anniversary of the town hall, former mayor Chris Odishaw started the campaign to restore the space that once was once was used as an opera house up until 1965.

The two-storey town hall/opera house building, which was first built in 1912, is designated a municipal heritage property.

In recent years, the town has been using less than 40 per cent of the floor space in the town hall building, so it needs to find some new uses.

Town of Battleford council approved the recommendation from CAO John Enns-Wind that council partner with the Battleford Opera House Committee to “best discern how to rehabilitate the town hall so the facility is utilized as much as possible.”

The Battleford Opera House committee has agreed to allow up to $200,000 of its funds raised to be used for this process.

The process includes a community consultation, creating at least two business plans based on two different uses of the top floor of the building, as well as creating some concept designs that can be used for the “next phase of rehabilitating the town hall.”    

“What we need is public consultation to develop a consensus as to how the facility is to be used,” said the CAO. “Right now there is no consensus. So through the use of public consultation to understand the needs and aspirations of the community, but also to help the community to understand the costs involved for one type of use or another – that’s why we need the public consultation – to start to develop an understanding, and then based on as much reasonable facts that we can develop, we can make an informed decision.

“The process isn’t about proscribing that it’s going to be an opera house or it’s going to be something else. The process is what does the community want and does the community feel that they can afford it. And does the community feel they can get their return on investment for it,” he said.

“It’s about trying to understand what the community wants, and can the community afford it,” added the CAO.

As part of its process the town will recruit a steering committee, request proposals to rehabilitate the building, select a group to consult with the public, which will develop designs for the facility and develop two business plans – for a European-style opera house and another plan to repurpose the floor space. The steering committee will then report to council with a recommendation.  

The existing Opera House Committee involved in the discussions indicated it met with the CAO on June 21 and said it wanted to “remain in place.”

“Our committee may be small but we are passionate about the Opera House,” said committee members in a letter to Mayor Ames Leslie and Battleford council.

The committee indicated funds have been invested in architectural designs, including some “out of pockets expenses by former mayor Chris Odishaw,” that have provided the committee with “a vision of what a large-scope project could deliver.” It also said the committee supports the recommendation an RFP be developed for architectural consultants to determine the best use for the space, and the cost should come from the money raised to date.  

The money raised so far by the committee, including donations from the public and a grant from the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs, amounts to roughly $684,000.

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW