Feature Article October 30, 2002
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Community Hall Fees don't sit well with Mountain Grove Seniors
Ada MacDonald of the Mountain Grove Seniors is not satisfied with the new township hall fees bylaw that was approved by the Central Frontenac Council at the beginning of October. The bylaw will take effect on January 1, 2003.
MacDonald expressed her opinion in a letter received by council last week, and in a subsequent interview, MacDonald pointed out the special relationship the Mountain Grove Seniors have had with the Olden Hall in Mountain Grove, and wonders how Central Frontenac Council can justify charging them $40 a day to use it. Would the hall look as it does today if the seniors hadnt put the money in since 1974, when the hall was in terrible shape? MacDonald asks.
The Mountain Grove Seniors were founded in 1974, and right away they were looking for a clubhouse, but there was nothing suitable, Ada recounts. They decided to fix up the Olden Hall. They could have chosen the Orange Hall, but they chose the township hall instead.
Over the years, the Mountain Grove Seniors have obtained grants from the provincial government to upgrade the hall. Among other renovations, they have paid to drill a well, and put indoor toilets in. They have also purchased cupboards, chairs, and tables. As recently as two years ago, the Mountain Grove Seniors donated $1,100 towards carpeting in the Hall.
And thats not all, according to Ada MacDonald.
Weve also been donating $100 a year for the halls upkeep. Our coffee urn and our dishes are in the Hall as well. The township is perfectly willing to go out and rent the hall, and people use our urn and our dishes. Now, they want to put in a single rule making everyone pay the same amount for all the halls throughout the whole township. That might work elsewhere, but things are different here. We dont agree with this.
The township hall fees bylaw will establish a fixed fee for the use of halls, and an hourly rate of $5 per hour has been set for the groups using halls for three hours or less. The daily rate varies from hall to hall, but averages around $40. There are no exemptions to these fees, except for councils own use of halls and the use of halls by council committees. There is also a compassionate rate for funeral lunches.
