Rossland’s city council voted to move forward with selling off the old Rotary Health Centre at last week’s council meeting.
The city doesn’t currently use the building — though it is home to Rossland’s food bank and Rossland Search and Rescue uses the basement for storage — and as it stands the structure costs thousands of dollars in operating fees per year and will cost taxpayers even more in major repairs.
According to Steve Nash, the city’s consulting manager of finance, the building currently costs $8,000 to $10,000 a year to operate and it will cost an additional $30,000 to $40,000 “to bring it up to snuff.”
According to Mike Pistak, who’s been a Rossland Rotary Club member for 50 years, the building was constructed by Rotary before he was even a member, but has always belonged to the city.
“It was used as an immunization clinic and an expectant mothers and baby clinic for a while,” he explained, but the building has not been used for any immunization-related purposes for the past five to six years.
A representative from the Rossland Food Bank declined to comment on city council’s decision.