A former board member of the Newcastle Village Community Hall in Clarington, yesterday started a public petition calling for the hall to be opened up for the community it was originally intended to serve.
The hall was donated by the Massey family in 1923 and was intended to be a community hub: it housed the library, post office, and even the jail, said Sharon Grant-Young, the petition starter.
“Through the years, unfortunately, access to our hall and the centre point of our town has eroded. A small group of residents control use of the hall, even though it is owned by the Municipality of Clarington. One board member, in a board of only 5, sat for 42 years,” Grant-Young said.
“As a board member myself for a year from 2022-2023, I raised concerns on several occasions about the hall being underutilized and not available to the community as it was intended,” she pointed out.
The Hall has been in the news recently as work begins to finally install air conditioning.
Why Is Clarington Not Paying The Full AC Cost?
“What’s not widely shared is that, for some reason, the [Clarington] municipality is only paying half of the cost of this upgrade and requiring the community to fundraise the rest ($325K),” said Grant-Young.
She alleged that local representatives Willie Woo and Margaret Zwart did not support full funding.
She said the hall is apparently once again hosting comedian Darrin Rose, brother-in-law of the hall board chair, for a ‘fundraising’ event, which with tickets at $30 and at a full capacity of 300 people, with no expenses, gives $9,000, out of $325,000 needed.
“Why is our beautiful, historical community hall being used as a private club house, under the guise of fundraising? Why are we ‘fundraising’ for a municipal facility at all? Why are millions of dollars being spent on new municipal facilities while the hall sits empty?” Grant-Young asked.
Full of Potential
The petitioner said the hall has so much potential. “It could be used as a community hub, house seniors programs, child care, arts camps, local theatre and more.”
She pointed out that the historic jail cell could be on display rather than used as a storage room. The bowling lanes could be open and bright and happy instead of tightly and privately controlled by one party. Children could freely explore and play. There could be a public café or lounge.
Municipal Management
The hall was initially governed by the Massey will, which also stipulated that more men than women sit on the board. The municipality has revised the by-law terms multiple times and is well within their rights to take over management of this facility after 100+ years, said Grant-Young.
“All I want to see is that the hall be opened up to our community, as it was intended by the Massey family. It’s the centre of our community and it deserves so much more respect than this,” she said.
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