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Girl Guides vacating main hall due to $60K repair cost

May 16, 2014 | 11:54 AM

paNOW Staff 

The local Girl Guides will be vacating their main hall on 6th Avenue West in Prince Albert by the end of September this year.

The 49-year-old building’s roof beams need $60,000 worth of work to bring them back up to standard for the long-term, said Jody Boulet, community services director for the City.

“The first step was meeting both with council and the Girl Guides … to consider some of the options and whether or not restoring the roof would be an option,” said Boulet.

Restoring the roof wasn’t an option though, and the City extended the lease on the current building to give the Girl Guides time to find new premises, he said. After

September, the City will make a final decision on whether to repair or close the building, explained Boulet.

The Girl Guides haven’t found a new place yet, but not all the units in Prince Albert meet at the hall; there are schools and churches they use in the east and west ends of the city, said Christine Taylor, Prince Albert Evergreen district commissioner.

The Girl Guides have used the building for almost 40 years, but it’s mainly used for storage now, she said.

“We have looked at a few locations in Prince Albert, and are in the process of determining what is going to meet our needs for storage of camping equipment, etc.,” said Taylor. “The units that are meeting in the hall currently are going to determine where they’re going to meet (next year) in the city.”

Taylor said the move won’t affect registration.

“We have scheduled to be moved out by September 30, so we’ll be holding our registration in our traditional location,” she explained.

Dates for registration will be advertised in school newsletters, and by the time they move out of the hall, the group will have worked out where meetings for all levels will be held in the city, Taylor said.

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