Photo: Okanagan Men’s Shed
A lawsuit between a local seniors’ group and a community foundation has been resolved, just in time for Christmas.
Last month, the Okanagan Men’s Sheds Association filed a civil law suit against the Trinity Baptist Church Legacy Foundation, claiming they were owed close to $10,000.
The association alleged it spent $9,958.61 on materials to upgrade a building owned by the Trinity Baptist Church Legacy Foundation, located on Kelowna’s Mayer Road property.
The Okanagan Men’s Sheds Association is a group “dedicated to helping senior men to overcome loneliness and to enhance their wellbeing,” through woodworking, sharing skills and socializing.
But this week, both parties told Castanet they had “resolved the lawsuit” and “come up with a mutually agreeable solution.”
“We have concluded that there was a lack of mutual understanding regarding the terms of the lease agreement between us,” said Mike Boucher, board chair of the Okanagan Men’s Shed.
“We’ve now had the chance to meet and reach an amicable resolution.”
The association had rented a portion of a storage building located at the Mayer Road property from May 2019 to December 2020. Over those 19 months, the men’s group said they had made “significant improvements” to the building “based on the understanding that the relationship between the parties would be in perpetuity.”
But when the lease expired, the group said it was not renewed, causing the Trinity Baptist Church Legacy Foundation to be “unjustly enriched by its actions in refusing to lease the building to the Men’s Sheds.”
While the issue has now been resolved, neither party disclosed how that resolution was made or if there was any financial settlement.
“Both of our organizations are happy to put this issue behind us and continue serving our constituents,” said Candace Giesbrecht, board chair of the Kelowna TBC Legacy Foundation.
Despite the resolution, the Okanagan Men’s Shed Association will still not use the building on Mayer Road and the association does not have a home at this time. A note on its website posted in October states: “We are working to find a new shop location and hope to be back to serve the community and our members soon.”
