BradfordToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter to the editor and open letter to Bradford council is in response to an article regarding the Tec-We-Gwill Women’s Institute Hall, published April 10.
Dear councillors, mayor and deputy mayor,
I was very upset reading the article in BradfordToday regarding the possible future of the hall. I realize it is a burden to the town if it is losing money, but I certainly don’t think the Women’s Institute (WI) is to blame for that. That is actually quite ridiculous.
I am not a member of WI, but I have attended many of their functions through the years. Their programs are always excellent, and many are focused on the safety, health and well-being of seniors. WI is all about supporting the community, and the members donate countless volunteer hours to offer the monthly seniors’ luncheons and other functions. There will be a lot of sad, lonely seniors if those programs can’t continue.
Furthermore, the fact that very few other individuals and organizations have used the hall has nothing to do with its use by WI. The town does not make it easy to rent. I was recently in touch with the town, hoping to rent the hall once a week for a daytime folk dance class (mostly for seniors). The woman I spoke to in the recreation department hadn’t heard of the hall, and hadn’t even heard of Newton Robinson. She needed to speak to others in her department, and then called me back to say that it wasn’t possible to arrange anything through their department at this time.
Next I called the office just to arrange a rental. First the answer was “no” because there were septic problems. Then the septic issue was solved, but the rental fee was exorbitant. Actually, the base rental fee and insurance were only about $35 for an hour per week, but there was an additional fee of $62 each week, which goes to Entandem for the use of music. That seemed outrageous. I have done some research regarding Entandem fees, and it sounds like $62 would be a yearly fee for a small group one hour per week. I phoned the town office again to clarify that, and left a message, but have not had a return call.
If others are getting similar responses/non-responses from the rental department when they phone to try to arrange parties or other functions, it is no wonder the hall hasn’t been rented.
I hope council will delve more deeply into these matters, and come up with a solution that is positive for all involved.
Ann Berman
Newton Robinson
