Meaford’s Accessibility Advisory Committee is supporting the municipality in its efforts to receive funding for upgrades at Kin Hall.
During a meeting on July 13, a report was brought forward recommending the committee support Meaford’s attempt to receive the needed funding to install accessibility upgrades at the building.
Kin Hall is a two-level community hall on the waterfront in Memorial Park. The report says currently, it is inaccessible as a result of entryway barriers, a lack of an elevator, service counter height, and lack of accessible washroom.
The report adds the municipality is looking at sending in an application for 100 per cent funding under the Ontario Trillium Fund Capital Grant program to support capital upgrades and mitigate these barriers.
The upgrades would include concrete work to create a barrier-free entry on the ground level, installing an elevator, lowering of service counters in the upstairs hall, and retrofitting a bathroom to be barrier free.
The proposed project, the report says, would enhance accessibility, and in turn, increase its usefulness to the community.
The building is managed in partnership with the Meaford Kinsmen, as they use the second-floor for meetings and events. The kinsmen have also reported the accessibility barriers are becoming increasingly challenging to navigate.
The report adds staff as well feel the facility is underused as a result of it being not accessible.
Kin Hall was identified in the Memorial Park Master Plan in 2021, and should it receive the accessibility upgrades, the facility will be able to host inclusive programs and events.
If Meaford is able to receive funding, renovations are anticipated to start next year.
