11 months after vicious storm, damage worsening at Shelburne community centre

The largest community space in Shelburne, N.S., has been off limits since January after a wicked winter storm ripped up the building's roof, and months of neglect have only made things worse.

Because the roof wasn't replaced right away, water has been leaking into the community centre on King Street and pooling on the floor. It's meant community groups, like the ladies auxiliary, have had to suspend their activities or scramble to find a new home.

Auxiliary president Kelley Rennehan estimates her group has lost between $5,000 and $7,000, money that would have gone to the Shelburne volunteer fire department.

It hasn't catered an event since before the storm because Rennehan said there are simply no other spaces in town that are big enough.

While work on a replacement roof finally started last week, it could be months before the building is open again. Rennehan isn't holding her breath.

"I'm a little bit pessimistic about that because I mean, we're almost a year in and unfortunately nothing really has happened," she said.

Insurance company to blame

Mayor Karen Mattattel said she understands the community's frustration. She's frustrated, too.

The storm damage to the building, worth an estimated $500,000, is covered by insurance but Mattattel ​said it's taken time for the insurance company to find a crew that can do the repair work.

She said it wasn't an option to borrow the money and pay it back, like the town did to cover storm damage to the waterfront.

"It was too significant an amount to do that, so we had to wait on the insurance company," Mattattel said.

"We're very sorry that it has happened. If there had been any alternative, any reasonable alternative, we would have certainly pursued that."

Jennifer Davis, who runs 180 Saxon Cadet Corps in Shelburne, also relies on the King Street centre. She said she can't offer a full program to the cadets because there are no other spaces large enough to accommodate 23 teens who need to practise drills and marksmanship.

"I think it's humongous for the community. It's a tremendous loss," said Davis. "We really need to get it fixed and back up and running."

She was waiting patiently for the space to reopen, but recently went in to get the cadet's equipment so it didn't get damaged.

Mould becoming a problem

Both Davis and Rennehan said months of letting the water damage fester has caused a mould problem inside the building. Last time Davis was there she needed to wear a mask because she said the air quality was so bad.

Rennehan said she's been impacted by the air quality as well. Up until last month, the auxiliary was still meeting in a small room in the building even though it could no longer cater events there.

"As soon as I was in there, 10 minutes, my eyes were burning and kind of itchy and I was having trouble breathing," Rennehan said.

"It wasn't long after that they shut all the meeting rooms down because unfortunately the black mould has just kind of overtaken the space."

Could reopen in February

Darren Shupe, CAO for the town, said in an email that a crew will work on a new roof, plus ventilation and heating for the next three weeks. But the centre won't reopen until the town has a better sense of the new damage.

He said that won't happen until at least February.

Shupe also anticipates the initial insurance claim will go up. While he expects the new costs will also be covered, he won't know for sure until a full assessment of the latest damage is done.

Nearly a year after the storm, Mattattel is hoping there's an end in sight to the centre's troubles.

"We're happy that finally they've started the work, and we hope that the damage has not become so extensive that it's going to make it even that much longer before it's fixed."