Church buys Giroux hall

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This article was published 04/02/2019 (1904 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ownership of the Giroux UFM Hall will be transferred to a church that plans to hold worship services and school classes in the building when it soon takes ownership.

Mike Hornan, board president since 1991, said the Giroux United Farmers Mutual Co-operative Society, the group established more than a century ago to oversee the hall, decided to focus its tight budget on maintaining outdoor elements on the property.

“It’s a very, very sad day, it tears my heart out,” he said. “The older generation of Giroux has either passed on or moved away…but (the hall) is going to be put to good use.”

The buyer, Reformed Congregation of North America, takes possession Feb. 15, and plans to turn the hall into a church. The group’s Obadiah Christian School will also operate out of the building, Hornan said.

The hall’s one-acre parcel is included in the sale, but the board will continue to maintain the park, ball diamonds, and play structure nearby.

“We still own two acres,” Hornan said.

Dwindling weekly bingo attendance and fewer rentals caused revenues to decline, prompting the board to begin deliberating over the future of the hall in June 2017. A vote to sell followed five months later, Hornan said.

“We did look at leasing it to somebody,” he added.

The 4,000-sq-ft. hall, located near the CN rail line, seats about 200, and was a popular gathering place in decades past.

Last November, the RM of Ste Anne stepped in to cover the hall’s fall utility bills. Hornan said the municipality also forgave the property taxes.

The board has yet to decide what to do with the proceeds from the sale, Hornan said. He declined to disclose the purchase price.