The Kamloops Heritage Society thinks turning St Andrews on the Square over to the city to operate is a bad idea and they would like council to reconsider.

Speaking on the NL Morning news, society president Peggy Broad was quick to point out the diversity St Andrews has brought to Kamloops. “It has been a sustainable business model since 1998 and we don’t just book weddings.”

“We have yoga classes. There’s everything from fencing to the Farmer’s Market that comes in there as soon as they’re finished outside in the summer. We have events just about every single day, sometimes up to four events a day.”

Broad pointed to why she thinks it’s best that they continue to operate the church. “What’s going to happen is that the city is going to book it, similar to what they do with the courthouse.”

“You have to go online, book the event, set it up and do your event by yourselves without our volunteers helping and without our volunteers giving you that personal service.”

“The community events will no longer be running because we are the ones that arrange those, we’re the ones that put them on and that sense of community will be lost.”
The society and city council will meet Friday.

She also addressed criticism that St Andrews isn’t making any money. “We’re a not for profit society. So we operate under the pretence that we are not there to make a profit. We’re there to basically serve the community and we collect enough fees to run the facility and give back to the community.”

The Kamloops Heritage Society and City Council are meeting again on Friday.