Published in The BANAR December 1998
by Al Ross
Work is progressing on schedule for the Community Hall, and construction may even be completed by the end of December 1998. We have been working on establishing rates and policy, and these should be ready by December 17th. The capacity has been determined by the Building Code to be 100.
We are in the process of purchasing tables, chairs and other furniture to make this hall as functional as we can right from the opening. The kitchen will be equipped with an oven, a microwave and a fridge. There will be no stove with surface burners since according to the Building Code, this would require a $5,000 exhaust system. We will be looking for the oven, fridge, microwave, coat racks, etc., so if anyone has any contacts or community groups who would like to donate these items, please let me know as soon as possible.
We are also looking for a volunteer manager for the hall so if anyone one is interested please call me. I have received some offers of assistance from residents, but if there are still people who feel they can contribute time or materials, we would be pleased to talk to you about it. We don’t know yet how much help we will need, but I’m sure as things become clearer there will be ample opportunity to use all the resources we can muster.
We will be calling a meeting in early December of those potential users of the hall who attended our public meetings early in the planning stages of the hall. We want to inform the community groups of the rates and policy issues so they can plan their activities accordingly. Reservation forms are available at the TD Bank and my house.
The Gloucester Arts Board has proposed the Blackburn Community Hall as the site for the 1999 Art Acquisition Program involving a commissioned work of art. Community organizations interested in participating in this project should give me a call and we can set up a meeting with the Arts Board. The level of community involvement may take a variety of forms:
• Participation in the development of the concept or/and
• Participation in the creation of the artwork itself.