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The decade of 1982-1992 was lifeless in comparison with other decades. In the minutes the fire marshal told the Activities Club in Feb of 1982 that the hall should be rewired. It was mentioned at that meeting but was never again mention in the minutes or receipts of the decade. The members gave permission to the janitor to charge renters up to $25 to come in a day early to decorate for their event. It appears the charge for the hall rental was $50 but it seems that often $25 of that was returned to the renter as a damage deposit. During this time early in the decade improvement to the hall included the installation of hat hooks and the purchase of a heavy duty extension cord. A pay phone was installed in ’84 with the expected cost per month to be $11, wherein the club would keep the money paid to use the phone. But by ’91 the cost of the phone was nearly $20 per month. With rentals at an all time low and no regular events sponsored by the club it seems not much was collected from the phone. Throughout the years to May of ’84 it was reported that the kitchen roof leaked. In Dec. of ’84 the by-laws were amended to read “there shall be no donations or memorials to charity funds” but by April of ’85 the amendment was rescinded. Sometime in here the hall was re-keyed and the porch, porch light and leaks in the kitchen roof were repaired. At the October 1985 meeting the membership agreed to pay the janitor $600 per year. Some disagreement with the IRS came to favor HHAC in that they did not have to pay $2910 as had been demanded by the IRS. The annual flea markets sponsored by the club were abandoned due to lack of interest and too much work. It was reported in the minutes that between May & Oct of ’85 $600 in rent was collected and by the following May the total for rent for the year was $1198. By November of 1985 major leaks were being reported in the main hall roof. The treasury balance was decreasing due to poor rentals, and oil stove had exploded causing and expensive repair as well as other maintenance expenses. Membership was less than fifty people and time was tough. Early in ’86 Island County informed HHAC that the hall was not wheelchair friendly so using it as a poling place would be discontinued. Paradoxically the county approved the hall as an alternative site for the Freeland Island Care Center, a nursing home, in case of a disaster. In March of that year the members raised dinner prices to $2 and started a 10cent ticket sale. The tickets were drawn and the money that had been collected was divided up in small portions and given as prizes. In Dec of’86 the decision was made to start the dinners at 6:30 p.m. and there was a drive to get new members as only 46 attended the “free to member” December dinner. With little money and low membership HHAC requested donations from the public for the restoration of the hall. The South Whidbey Record of Tuesday April 14, 1987 ran a front page picture of some of the 55 members standing in front of the hall. The headline read, “Historic Hall needs major repairs.” In short HHAC was low on funds and the future of Freeland Hall looked bleak. Thanks to many donations made into collection boxes at various businesses the Thompson Brothers Roofing Company and Jack Bayha owner of Lumber Jacks the Freeland Hall was roofed by October of 1987. New life was again in Freeland Hall. In Dec of ’88 due were raised to $2 per year. Some of the money was used to paint the interior of the hall. Only one set of notes from 12/7/91 were found for the period 1988-1992. Thus assumptions were drawn by the writer from the treasure’s reports of that time period. HHAC was able to acquire a liability policy @$159 per year. Propane furnaces were installed by Cenex for $1316.88 to replace the old oil furnaces. A letter was found thanking the park department for help in cleaning up a mess after the hall had been broken into in April of ’89. With out notes the reason why is unknown but in April of 1989 a management agreement between Holmes Harbor Activities Club and Island County was legally signed and notarized. In synopsis form it gave HHAC the day to day management of he hall without paying any fees to the county, and gave full use and scheduling of the hall rental and use to the club. In consideration of its services all monies collected would go to HHAC and the county would be allowed to use the building only for “official county meetings”. The county would provide fire insurance and be responsible for major repairs costing over $500. HHAC would provide a janitor and do minor repair and restoration, cover utility bills and provide liability insurance. The decade closed with HHAC increasing in income and membership.
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