The Summerland Legion has been closed since July on account of intensive water harm from a leaky roof.
Following again-to-again rainstorms, the 20-yr-outdated roof started to leak ensuing in harm to the lounge and Rosedale Room. The ceiling then partially collapsed and soaked the carpet.
“July 11th, we had a rainstorm, and we had a leak and I discovered it the next day. It was not big, it was a minor one, so I went up on the roof the next day and thought I patched it. Which worked fine because we never got any rain until the 24th of July,” stated Summerland Legion second-vice-president and home and grounds committee chairperson, Pat O’Sullivan.
“The evening of the 24th … got a really good rainstorm, some wind and I thought in the morning, I’ll just come and check on it to see how my patch did and I walked in the door… and there were tiles all over the place. There was water everywhere in about five different locations, it was just a mess.”
According to legion members, insurance coverage will solely cowl damages to the constructing however not a brand new roof because the roof is 20 years outdated.
The estimated price of the roof repairs, nevertheless, is round $75,000.
“The Legion does take in a lot of money in both our gaming accounts and with the poppy fund. But we’re not allowed to use them for everyday operations,” stated Summerland Legion previous president John Dorn.
“So, we have a little bit in the reserve fund but nowhere near the $75,000 that we need.”
It’s already been a troublesome couple of years for the legion — first pandemic closures and simply hours after Remembrance Day final yr, thieves broke in and stole poppy fund donations and precipitated intensive harm all through the constructing.
The legion acquired an outpouring of assist again then and has as soon as once more turned to the group for assist.
“We have been soliciting direct donations from the community and the Summerland community has been very generous,” stated Dorn.
“And we’re at about $30,000 with people waiting in the wings for us to finalize some things.”
Several occasions are scheduled to assist elevate funds for a brand new roof, together with a car parking zone rummage sale and BBQ this weekend on the legion.
The sale is anticipated to run from 9 am-3 pm on Saturday and also will embody reside music, and tattoos for teenagers.
“Then the next weekend after that at a local wine Ve Oh Lay Acres Winery, we’re having what we call Sip in Support, where 25 per cent of all receipts for both wine and food are donated to the Legion,” stated Dorn.
“And they have a petting zoo there and any donations to the petting zoo, the animals are giving the donations to the Legion as well.”
Although there isn’t any actual timeline as to when the legion will reopen, there may be hope that repairs might be completed by mid-October.
“We have a new chef, Chef Andy, and the meals are spectacular, and he’s just been able to do a pop-up tent around the around the back. There are numerous clubs that use this facility for their meetings and we always have events like dances, music bingo nights, that sort of thing and we’ve just had to shut them down,” stated Dorn.
“The very important thing is that we have to be open by Remembrance Day because that’s the most important day of the year here at the Legion.”
Information on methods to donate or in regards to the upcoming occasions could be discovered on the Summerland Legion web site.
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