Royal Canadian Legion Branch 23 has until May 1 to find a new home.
Eileen Viau, president of the branch, says the current COVID-19 lockdown is cutting into valuable time to look at buildings.
“Right now, we’re sitting around with our hands tied,” she said. “We’re going to be out there as soon as the lockdown is lifted.”
Branch 23 submitted a business plan at the end of January for how a new building would operate or it risked losing its charter.
Viau learned earlier this week that the branch has been granted a three-month extension for the search, needing “something nailed down” by May 1.
“We’re going to try and find a place. We have to keep doing that. We have a few places we’re thinking of going and seeing,” she said.
Even if a lease is signed, Viau says it could still take some time before members are welcomed back.
“It’s not like going and signing on the dotted line for an apartment or for a mortgage,” she explained, adding there could be additional work done to the space before it opens.
Viau says the Branch is looking for a building between 1,800 and 2,000 square feet.
“A place to have a small bar, a small kitchen, we want a multipurpose room where people can meet and play cards,” she said, adding the executive team has scrapped the idea of having a dance floor at its new location.
Viau says she spends hours a day on the phone working from home to run the branch, adding she’s frustrated she cannot meet with her executive team to look at potential buildings.
Earlier this week, Legion branches in Mattawa and Cobalt received federal funding to support their operating costs through a pandemic-specific program.
Viau says Branch 23 does not qualify for the support because it does not have a building.
It’s been nearly a year since Branch 23 moved out of its location on First Avenue, and Viau says many people have not renewed their memberships.
“I keep my fingers crossed that we’re going to get most of our members back in once we have a roof,” she said.
Viau says she has a couple of locations in mind to move the branch but is still open to offers.
