Community Hall is there to stay
By Bill Rea

It does need some work, but there are no plans on the part of King Township to get rid of Nobleton Community Hall, or convert it to a storage area or to change its uses in any way.

In fact, there are efforts under way to get a heritage designation for the building.

These points were made Thursday night by several Township officials, including Parks, Recreation and Culture Director Catherine Purcell to members of the Nobleton Women's Institute (WI), at a meeting held in the community hall.

The issue sprang to life after there was some mention a couple of weeks ago, during deliberations over the Township's 2007 budget, that the building could be used as a storage area by the municipality. That resulted in a number of e-mails being issued by Councillor Jeff Laidlaw, along with concerned reaction from the community, including from groups that use the facility. WI is among those.

WI secretary Robin Pereira provided some details of the building's past, which she said were compiled from the Tweedsmuir History.

She said the land was owned by Martin Snider, who donated it in 1885 for a community hall. The original building on the site was known as The Music Hall, and was the scene of numerous community events. That facility was eventually found to be inadequate, so the WI called for a community meeting on the subject, which was held March 25, 1935. Public support led to the construction of the current hall, which was completed the following year. The materials for the new structure cost about $3,578, while the labour was provided by local volunteers. By the time the hall was completed, there was still about $1,500 in costs that had not been covered, meaning numerous events were held to raise money to pay it off.

The Township took over the hall in 1976, and there was talk of tearing it down. That prompted WI and local Lions to establish a hall board, which continues to work to keep the building in good repair.

Pereira also commented on the importance of the building to the community, mentioning that after a major ice storm late in 1959, when hydro and phones were out for days, the hall was put to vital use.

"During this time, the community hall was opened and a good fire lit in the large cookstove allowed mothers to make formula and prepare warm food for their families," she said.

Kettleby resident Bert Duclos, a researcher for the Township's heritage committee, said they were approached by WI to conduct an evaluation on the building's suitability for a heritage designation.

"Heritage is as important to a committee as you want it to be," he remarked.

Candidate buildings for designation are evaluated according to various criteria, and Duclos reported the studies revealed considerable justification for considering the hall for designation. He pointed to the style and placement of the windows, red mortar used between the concrete blocks, etc. Since the building went up during the Depression, limited funds would have been available, and they would have had justification for building a much simpler structure. Yet a lot of thought evidently went into the design and the result was a very durable building. That's an indication that the community members who built it really cared about their project.

Councillor Linda Pabst commented that work is needed on the roof of the building, but staff has not allocated the funds to the latest budget proposals. She added council could put the money in if it so chooses.

Pabst also asserted that no one had said it would be used for storage, adding only that the Township clerk had remarked that was a possibility.

There are problems in terms of the accessibility of the building, along with some deficiencies in the kitchen, but there have never been suggestions from the Township that there were no plans to fix them. "That was not said," she declared.

Pabst added there were no plans to sell the building, and said she agreed with its importance.

"People can misunderstand what has been said," she remarked. "We will do everything we can to keep this building here."

Pabst also said the the municipality wouldn't have the building demolished, even in the interest of economics.

"We're going to have to go awfully broke before there are a lot of people who will let that happen," she declared.

Laidlaw expressed appreciation for the support of preserving the building.

He did point out many changes are coming to Nobleton in the days ahead. "We need to maintain some semblance of what Nobleton was; what Nobleton is," he said, adding he didn't want to see the building demolished, as was the case with the old Masonic hall in Nobleton last year.

Councillor Jane Underhill, who was also at the meeting, expressed her support for saving the building too.

"Heritage buildings like this give us a sense of place, and without them we will not have a sense of place," she said.

Purcell told Councillor Cleve Mortelliti the roof of the building needs repairs, to the tune of about $10,000. As well, the kitchen needs some work, mainly in the area of ventilation from the stove, and regarding dish washing equipment. She added there are accessibility issues, but legislation regarding that doesn't have to be complied with until 2025.

Duclos pointed out if council accepts a recommendation to have the building designated, that will only cover exterior features that are specifically mentioned in the bylaw.