It’s been almost a year since The Grand Forks Seniors Society’s meeting space was lost to flooding. The Society presented a plan to city council Monday inquiring about using the Grand Forks and District Public Library’s basement, which while unoccupied, lacks accessibility. There was some support from council who couldn’t give any promises, as much time is needed for renovations and inquiries. The City has also yet to hear back regarding a grant application.
Councillor Chris Moslin says even if they moved forward it could take some time:
“Personally I would really like to see something done with that 6000 square feet but unfortunately I cannot see it being a quick turnaround, we’re at the mills of the gods here right?”
Also presented Monday was the Library’s feasibility study to determine the likelihood of proposed renovations, including an elevator that would access said basement. The elevator is estimated to cost between $60,000 and $80,000.
Mayor Brian Taylor agrees that there’s lots of work to be done:
“So as you can see we’re moving ahead with this as quickly as we can recognizing that it’s unused space and to us that’s an unused resource, and so there’s lots of things that we need to work out here but certainly we’re moving down that direction.”
Since the flood, the society’s memberships have dropped from 120 to 60, and members are using alternate locations such as churches for their meetings, and are separated.