Plans for a renovation to the Miners’ Union Hall are inching forward.
Rossland Council for Arts and Culture (RCAC) has gained approval from the city to begin work on a “common” Miners’ Union Hall renovation plan that includes the attic renovation and the city’s planned upgrades as outlined in the capital plan.
RCAC president Renate Fleming asked council to approve the RCAC’s proposed plan for the Miners’ Union Hall and approve the plan in principal.
“Our intent is to build a common renovation plan and budget that is ‘shelf ready’ and would allow RCAC and the city to take advantage of any funding opportunities that may arise in the near future,” she wrote in a letter to council.
Council approved the RCAC’s request to work with city staff to develop a common plan and draft budget for both the attic renovation and the city’s planned upgrades to the hall.
Council could also include the Miners’ Union Hall reserve funds in the revenue portion of the draft budget for the common renovation plan, with the goal of maximizing the opportunity to leverage funds to complete the common plan.
“The city will have the opportunity to review and approve the budget and plan before it is released to any potential funders,” said Fleming.
The city has yet to work on a draft budget for the renovation. However, a conversation around numbers will likely happen in the budget discussions that are now underway.
Renovation planning to date
RCAC has completed several consultations over the period of 2013 regarding development of the attic of the Miners’ Union Hall.
Professional consultations conducted to date include: structural engineer Steven Thomas (Nelson); building code consultant B. Clarke Engineering (Summerland); and fire assessment by the regional district fire marshal.
Thomas Loh, Architect (Nelson) has prepared an initial concept drawing that considers the input provided by the above professionals.
Based on the architectural drawing by Thomas Loh, the RCAC hired Jim Bush from JBA in Nelson, a professional quantity surveyor, to provide an official cost estimate for the planned renovations. The total estimate for the attic renovations is $445,000.
Over the last few months RCAC has met with different stakeholders and potential user groups for feedback on the proposed design including Rossland Recreation, the Gold Fever Follies, and Rossland Light Opera Players.
City planned renovation
The city has plans to do upgrades to the hall and a reserve fund is in place to accomplish that work.
The city is planning renovations for the hall that potentially include new roofing, removal of the chimney, new windows and refinishing the exterior.
The RCAC proposed rolling the attic renovation and the exterior renovations into a single project.
Efficiencies could be realized and the reserve funds could be used to leverage additional funding.