The District of Barriere has negotiated a new lease for its municipal hall with the Kamloops-Thompson School District.

Mayor Ward Stamer says the school district owns the building, the former Barriere Ridge Elementary, and from incorporating in 2007 until now Barriere had a lease of $1 per year and looked after maintenance.

“It was a fairly simplistic lease… And we then sub-leased a portion of the building to Yellowhead Community Services,” Stamer says.

“And so when we went to renew the lease, there were a couple of options. And the option that we’ve actually voted on now is basically a standard school board lease where it’s so much (money) a square foot. We pay for what we use, (Yellowhead Community Services) pays for what they use, and the school board is now responsible for custodial, ground maintenance, any capital expenses.

“The building is 35 years old…  And it comes down to, the school board isn’t really in a position to sell the building right now, they don’t know what their future needs are going to be. And because of what happened at Parkcrest, that reinforces their belief that they really don’t want to sell any properties right now.”

The School District may plan to upgrade the building and use it as an elementary school eventually, according to board chair Kathleen Karpuk, based on growing enrollment in the community.

Meanwhile, Barriere is exploring the option of relocating its municipal hall.