The stage will remain in place at the renovated Maryborough Community Centre.
At its March 13 meeting, township council agreed to a plan to leave the stage, which had been designated to be replaced by a storage area, intact.
Tables and chairs, when not needed, will instead be stored in a lower level washroom converted for storage.
On Feb. 13, council gave the go-ahead to proceed with $219,000 worth of work on the second phase of the Maryborough Community Centre renovation project, but directed that the stage removal be deferred pending a report on alternatives from the public works department.
Several councillors commented they had heard objections from the public about plans to convert the built-in stage to storage space.
A public works report at the March 13 meeting provided three options:
– remove the existing stage and build a storage area and purchase a temporary stage for use at functions, at a total cost of $19,000;
– remove one existing washroom adjacent to the existing stage and utilize resultant space to create storage, total cost of $8,000; and
– procure a portable “sea can” – style storage container to be placed outside the facility to create storage and construct a pathway to access the container, at a cost of $15,000, plus ongoing maintenance.
The report notes the project architect recommended the second option – removing the washroom – “as the most viable course of action to achieve the required storage space, economically and aesthetically.”
The report also notes the option would result in residual funds that could be applied to upgrade the remaining washroom adjacent to the stage area.
Councillor Marlene Ottens asked if removing a washroom would leave the hall with enough washroom capacity.
Mattina said the architects “determined we could get away with one less unit for the men. That was a nice, quick solution.”
“It’s a clever way of solving our problems,” said Ottens.
Council received the public works report and directed staff to proceed with the conversion of the washroom to storage space.
