Cedars Club back up and running after flood
Becky Chisholm still remembers the day she walked into the Cedars Club, following the Thanksgiving Day storm in October.
“We knew we were probably impacted, but we weren’t sure how much because this was the first time the club had actually received water inside the building,” said Chisholm, the president of the St. Joseph’s Lebanese and Syrian Benevolent Society.
The club received extreme water damage to the entire building — 6,000 square feet — after the storm brought rainfall totals of 225 millimetres to the island, which caused major flooding in many communities including Sydney and Glace Bay.
“We knew we were kind of in the major flood zone, so we walked in and the water had receded by the next day, but the damage was definitely apparent,” said Chisholm.
“We had a beautiful wooden hardwood floor that had to be replaced — we could see the water line all around the interior.”
The damage caused by the flood cost around $170,000 and forced the club to close for two months, losing out on revenue from lost events and activities.
Since 2013, the society had invested $268,000 into upgrades to the hall through fundraisers as well as federal and provincial government grants, which made the flooding even more devastating.
The club has applied for funding through the province’s disaster financial assistance but is still waiting to hear back from the government.
Renovations to the building were completed prior to Christmas and the club has since reopened.
“We worked with a local contractor who was great to work with, Jeff Ellis Enterprises, and he was very understanding to our situation and helped us get back up on our feet quickly,” said Chisholm.
“They worked really hard to get us back up and open and they knew that if our doors were closed, we weren’t generating any revenue for our club, and all our activities were suspended,” she said.
Chisholm said the feedback from the community has been
positive.
“We serve more then just our membership, so we have many different leagues that happen there and activities that are open to the public that people look forward to going to every week,” she said. “Everyone was pretty happy to have the facility back up and running.”
The annual general meeting
for the St. Joseph’s Lebanese and Syrian Benevolent will be held on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Cedars Club, 30 MacKenzie Street in Sydney. All members are invited to attend.
Chisholm said because the cost of the renovations were high, the club has to make some decisions.
“Our membership will be discussing options to manage the
financial burden we now face,” she said.
For now, the hall is open for rentals. Anyone wanting to book the facility is asked to call the hall
after 3 p.m. at 902-539-1901, email cedarsclubsydney@gmail.com, or visit www.cedarsclubsydney.ca.