Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
The Royal Canadian Legion branch 225 in Sturgeon Falls recently concluded work on their HVAC system, thanks in part to an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant. The Legion received a $17,900 capital grant over 12 months for the repairs which began in April 2023. However, due to additional issues with an aging HVAC system, the organization was forced to spend approximately $7,000 of its own money to fully replace the remainder of the system. “Now it’s been running good for 2 months, I think it’s safe to say the HVAC is fixed,” says a relieved Lori Richer, President of the local branch.
Richer is no stranger to renovations and upgrades when it comes to the Sturgeon Falls Legion hall. In her time volunteering there, she’s overseen several upgrades and repairs, big and small. The HVAC system was just the newest item, and certainly not the last one to address as far as she is concerned. “Buildings like this, you have to expect that you’re going to be re-doing HVAC systems, heating systems, plumbing systems, washrooms…, because the government regulations keep changing and you have to change with them,” explains Richer, pointing out that it’s not always a question of things breaking down.
“When COVID hit, the Ministry decided to investigate all the HVAC systems in the buildings where they had court, that’s what started the whole thing,” she recalls, reminding that the province rents space in the Legion basement to hold provincial court. While an engineer’s report was provided on the province’s dime, the Legion was responsible for updating the system for COVID compliance. Luckily, the Ontario Trillium Foundation was willing to provide funding based on the report, but according to Richer, funding was not the only hurdle to get the process started.
“Approval came in I believe in the winter sometime last year,” she says, but that didn’t mean they were simply given the money. In order to get the funds, the Legion needed to show a start date, and they were given only a year to fully complete the work. “Nobody wanted to touch this building because it was old, and it was built in 3 stages,” explains Richer. No one in West Nipissing could handle their commercial HVAC system, and the search for a contractor in either North Bay or Sudbury wasn’t going well. Eventually, she had to ask the Ministry to step in and get someone to take the project.
A new HVAC unit was installed by May 2023, but the Legion had subsequent issues with other parts in the system. Older filters and fans within the building also broke down shortly after the main unit was installed. Richer suspects this was due to the volume of air being pushed through them by the new unit, which brought them to their limit. Ultimately, every part of the system throughout the building had to be replaced. “So all the old stuff is gone now, but the Legion ended up having to pay at least $7,000 out of pocket,” says Richer, who calls the breakdowns a “domino effect,” but one that she says she was prepared for. “I knew it, this always happens in old buildings,” she says with a laugh.