Thorne Mayor discusses return of municipal hall, new outdoor rink

Thorne Mayor discusses return of municipal hall, new outdoor rink

CHIP 101.9 spoke with Thorne Mayor Karen Kelly this morning (October 26) to discuss some of the goings on in the Ladysmith area. At the previous MRC council of mayors meeting, Thorne’s pro-mayor Robert Wills announced that the municipality had reached an agreement with the Thorne Community Recreation Association (TCRA) to return ownership of the municipal hall and grounds to the municipality. Back in the 1980s, the buildings and land were sold to the TCRA for a dollar, and they’ve handled the upkeep ever since, with the municipality paying them rent.

Terry Murdock, the mayor between 2013 and 2017, took legal action against the TCRA in order to try and re-establish ownership, calling the sale illegal. He pointed out at the time that the municipality was unable to apply for certain grants due to the fact that they didn’t own the building.

Kelly explained that the negotiations for the municipality taking back the ownership started mid-way through last year, and after the issue was discussed at council they decided to go ahead.

She said that the primary cause of the move was that the TCRA was unable to fundraise during COVID.

She added that the building required some upgrades and they were seeking a full-time maintenance worker to look after things on the grounds.

She also spoke about another change to their municipal grounds in Ladysmith, the renovation of their outdoor hockey rink, which will have new fiberglass boards installed this year. Kelly said that they would have to wait and apply for grants in order to add a concrete pad to play on in the future.