Although their address on Station Avenue in Langford won't change, the Prince Edward Branch #91 of the Royal Canadian Legion is looking ahead to building a new home.
The branch executive has discussed replacing the existing Legion, which was built in 1964, informally on and off since 2009, said Legion president Norm Scott. "The upkeep and maintenance are getting to be excessive due to its age," he explained. Scott said the BC Yukon command placed the Langford branch in trusteeship in 2013 to reorganize structure and procedures. That was completed earlier this year and the end of the trusteeship has paved the way for moving ahead on plans for a new building at the current site.
That may incorporate adding more storeys that include long-term care, low income housing or medical offices for example, Scott noted.
We're looking at all options," he added. "My main goal as president is to engage our membership and the community to do what's best for the Legion and the community as a whole," said Scott, a long-time member of the branch's executive, who has served as president for more than a year.
The branch executive has started discussions with various Legion members and people from the community to prepare a list of candidates to chair a building committee for the project. That's the first major step," Scott said.
The chair will be appointed by Scott and approved by the legion's executive for a period of five years, or until the new building is completed.
"Once the chair is selected we can determine who will be on the committee," he said. That committee could include five or seven volunteers, depending on the expertise available and because some people may be able to provide the necessary skills from a number of fields and backgrounds.
Ideally, the Legion is looking for volunteers with expertise in residential and commercial building, experience in municipal and provincial zoning, leasing requirements and development permit applications, as well as knowledge in building financing.
The building committee must also include volunteers from the Goldstream Food Bank, Emergency Social Services, the local retirement community, and the City of Langford.
"We want to do this in a way that's financially stable and sustainable for the long term," Scott said. "We need to create a sound business model and project management plan."
We want to move ahead on this as soon as possible."
Anyone interested in getting involved should call Scott at 250-478-1828, or email president@rcl91.ca.
reporter@goldstreamgazette.com