CANMORE – The Royal Canadian Legion Three Sisters Branch in Canmore is staying put.
Members of the Legion met on Tuesday night (May 21) at its annual general meeting to vote on a motion put forward in 2016 to sell the land and building it currently occupies and relocate within the community.
Branch president Darlene Burnett confirmed on Wednesday (May 22) the membership defeated the motion through a secret ballot.
“The meeting was well attended and the motion was to sell and relocate and the result was to keep the Legion at the present location,”
Burnett said.
She would not provide details of how the vote results were split or how many members attended. According the Three Sisters Branch Legion bylaws, for a vote to pass there needs to be at least two-thirds of vote majority.
“The motion was defeated, they wanted to stay at the same location,” Burnett said.
The motion was first put forward three years ago. At the time, the Three Sisters Branch executive said they were property rich and house poor, and began looking at options to sell or redevelop the site to create a newer, smaller Legion.
The 5,425 square foot property is located in in a prime downtown location, on the corner of Eight Avenue and Seventh Street.
The building features a main floor with a lounge area, eating area, a commercial kitchen, walk-in cooler, bar area and three bathrooms while the basement has a kitchen, various meeting rooms and two bathrooms. The site has a paved parking area with an exterior wood deck.
Former Branch advisory and executive president Darrel Jones said in 2016 that the commercial area for the Legion was too much to maintain and operate with its limited revenues and he wanted to take the financial situation to the membership to explore the option of selling or redeveloping.
The site has been home to the Legion for more than 90 years with the main building installed in 1954 and an addition built in 1964.
Five years ago, the membership was asked to consider redevelopment including a three-storey building with commercial on the ground floor (including 3,285 square feet for the Legion) and residential units on the second and third storey. There was also a developer with a three or four storey concept.
The motion that came forward for consideration and was defeated, however, was to sell and relocate. The Legion executive declined to provide details of the proposed relocation.
A draft reserve fund report for the Canmore Royal Canadian Legion was also released earlier this year in February. The goal set out in the financial plan was to maintain a reserve balance that would cover 20 to 83 per cent of replacement costs for the current facility over the next 30 years.
The report stated at the beginning of the study’s financial plan in Dec. 31, 3018, the reserve fund balance is approximately at 41 per cent.
“At this level of funding the Cooperation should be able to adequately provide for all regularly expected expenditures for the next 30 years and additionally 40 years. The plan also provides a buffer for some pre-mature failures if they occur,” the report states.
