KAMSACK — If residents still value the Kamsack Seniors’ Centre they will have to attend a meeting on May 30 to elect an executive committee or they’ll see the Centre closed.
An annual meeting was held May 12 but a complete executive was not elected, said Russell Brunt, the past president.
Brunt, who has held the position of president for the past four years, said he is done with serving in that capacity and no one at the meeting agreed to take on the job. The vice-president was the late John Adamyk and no one agreed to succeed him.
Elected to the executive committee were: Wally Sugawara, treasurer; Lise Rochefort, secretary, and Lorraine Thomas, Betty Salahub, Dorothy Pfiefer, Mable Laine and Linda Cherwenuk, directors.
But, without a president and vice-president the club will not be able to receive its licence to operate, Brunt explained. In that case, the decision will have to be made to close the club and maybe sell the building.
Currently the building hosts a number of weekly get-togethers, including bingo games, whist afternoons, bridge sessions and coffee breaks in the mornings during the winter. In addition, the building is used by community groups including the Kamsack Horticulture Society for its annual show and for meetings and other special events, a crafts group has been meeting twice a month and before the COVID pandemic, it was used for regular exercise sessions.
Twenty-five years ago Kamsack had two seniors’ centres with a couple hundred members, now this one centre has fewer than 40 members and many are not active, Brunt said. When the community had a population of 4,000, such centres were popular, but now fewer and fewer service clubs are active and the existing halls find it difficult to meet expenses.
Membership to the centre costs $15 a year and persons aged 50 years and over are encouraged to become members.
“We had expenses of $6,000 last year, of which $4,000 was income, and the remaining $2,000 was taken from savings,” he said. Expenses included heat and power for $2,000; water and garbage costs, $900, and insurance, $750.
“With the amount we have in savings, at this rate we can afford to continue for maybe another five years, then will have to close anyway, if something is not done to increase revenue,” he said. “If there is not enough interest in keeping this building open, then why should the remaining few continue to beat their heads together?”
Brunt encourages all those interested in keeping the seniors’ centre open to attend the meeting on May 30, and if a president and vice-president can be elected, then the facility will continue for another year, if not. The only alternative will be the end of the building as a public facility.
