Sept. 1st, 2024

Although it may not be obvious, a great deal of progress has been made since our last update.

Clean-up

The clean-up after the fire is now almost complete.

The asbestos has been cleared out of the Memorial Hall and some of the walls have already been taken down.

The remaining walls between the church and the large hall will be taken down in the coming weeks.

A temporary roof has been put up over the stairs to the basement to prevent further damage from rain.

Church Roof

The plan for the new roof, which will look the same as it did before, has been approved. The timeline will still be tight but we are on track to have a permanent roof by winter.

A woodworker has been hired to prepare all of the roof beams and trusses and is committed to delivering the completed woodwork by the week of October 12.

This will leave up to three weeks to install the woodwork and any membranes and insulation below the metal cladding of the roof.

We are currently calling for tenders on the roof cladding.

Church

The stained glass panels have been removed for their safe keeping and we have received an estimate for the costs of storage, repair and cleaning. This estimate is inline with what our insurers expected.

We are currently evaluating some form of HVAC system to keep the church above freezing.

The Hall

We would like to have the large hall operational as soon as possible. However the main entrance that had been used before the fire will not be available for the duration of the rebuild process.

Preliminary plans have been received. Factors that still need to be resolved are:

A second entrance installed on the west side of the hall and heated bathroom facilities.

A space for people to remove their boots and hang their coats in the winter. 

Temporary and/or permanent heating solutions

The possibility of creating some usable office space in the basement.

We are moving forward and encouraged by our progress to date.