Dundalk Little Theatre spring production postponed due to venue issues

March 19, 2014 · 0 Comments

The Township of Southgate was advised late last week, that our insurance provider will not continue to provide liability coverage on public occupancy events in the Olde Town Hall theatre area.

In December, 2013 our staff delivered a report to Council on the state of the building structure and challenges related to fire code. As a result of that report, Council commissioned a structural engineer’s report to confirm the building condition prior to investing between $60,000 to $100,000 in fire and exit upgrades. Southgate Council in February, 2014 commissioned the Olde Town Hall Building Task Force. The task force is made up of 5 public members that live in the municipality and will be reviewing the structural engineer’s report, the cost of the building upgrades, possible funding options and making recommendations on the next steps for the future of the building.

The Dundalk Little Theatre group, Southgate Council and staff have dialogued all the way through this process about the insurance companies concerns. The Dundalk Little Theatre group considered a backup plan in case the Olde Town Hall would not be available. Unfortunately, Southgate received first notice last week from the insurance company that stated, “no further assemblies be permitted at this location until such time that you have received a written report by either an engineer or the Fire Department confirming that all known fire and life safety issues have been complied with”.

As a result of this notice, Southgate staff held a meeting last Friday afternoon with the Dundalk Little Theatre group to advise them of the insurance issues. This short notice will not allow adequate time for a new location to be setup in time for the DLT production, set to open March 28, 2014. The Dundalk Little Theatre group also met over the weekend and made the decision to postpone indefinitely their play “Boeing Boeing” until an alternate, appropriate venue can be arranged.

As soon as information is available for a new location we will post the dates on Southgate’s website, the community signs and through the local newspapers. The Dundalk Little Theatre group will also be advertising any new information when it becomes available.