聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 The flooding event at the end of June 2014 caused much damage to property in and around Redvers. One of the buildings whose future is currently unknown includes the Redvers Arts Centre, which had over 16 inches of water in the basement.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 There have been structural concerns since August when an inspection was done.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he Redvers Arts Centre was flooded during the June 28-30 flooding in Redvers,鈥� Graham James, Chairperson of the Redvers Arts Council wrote earlier. 鈥淲e received over 1.5 feet of water above the wooden basement floor. The preliminary cleanup was done in July to get things dried out properly and to remove damaged property.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Thanking volunteers for their help, James continued to explain the situation stating the insurance policy on the centre will not cover the repairs as the flooding had been caused by overland flooding or ground water; there was no sewer backup which would have meant damages could have been claimed.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Applying for Provincial Disaster Assistance (PDAP), an adjuster attended the location in August to assess the costs involved to help determine the Arts Centre level of need. A structural engineer joined the adjustor to check the integrity of the structure following the flooding.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Built in approximately 1949 the Redvers Arts Council acknowledged that there would definitely be recommendations made by the inspector. Though the full report was not made available until September the Redvers Arts Council was contacted immediately following the inspection regarding a cracked basement and other concerns, which led the Arts Centre to close its doors.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Following this initial inspection the Redvers Arts Board hired a second structural engineer to provide another opinion of what needs to be done.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥ur estimates to repair the building to pre-flooding conditions would exceed $200,000,鈥� the Arts Council explained in a statement. 鈥淗owever, the engineer also said that even if the recommendations were all carried out, he felt the building would not likely last another five to 10 years before other parts of the building鈥檚 structure would cause the building to close again.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This means the Redvers Arts Council has concluded a new home must be found for the Redvers Arts Centre. Ultimately they wish to see a new Arts Centre and community hall, but would like the community and surrounding area to weigh in on the prospective project.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e are excited about new possibilities and hope the community will rally around this addition to Redvers and area,鈥� the Redvers Arts Council wrote. 鈥淲e are excited about new possibilities and hope the community will rally around this addition to Redvers and area.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e feel this will allow us to continue to have a theatre and space for movies, concerts, dance, drama, art and community events. We would like to expand the size of the hall and include a kitchen as well.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Everyone is therefore invited to the Redvers Activity Centre on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. to a public meeting which will act as a forum for discussion regarding the project.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥�2015 will be a busy year as we fundraise and plan for a new space that will allow us to continue programming into the future and provide a new space for community events,鈥� the Redvers Arts Council stated. 鈥淧lease join us on Jan. 20. If you have any questions and/or you would like to help, please contact Graham James, Gwen Arthur, or Dellan Mathewson or any other Arts Council board member.鈥�
