www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, January 22, 2014 | 8 The Meeting House grows with its followers by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff After undergoing a $5-million renovation, The Meeting House -- whose catch phrase is a church for people who aren't into church -- has re-opened its new and improved facilities to the community. The 2700 Bristol Circle church also features a new theatre and, at 1,700 seats, Halton's largest, according to Ministry Support Pastor Rod Tombs. The 100,000-sq. ft. church, which has operated on Bristol Circle since 2006, rents space to local groups and has developed such a following that it needed to expand. "We found our community grew to the point where we just needed more space," said Tombs. "One of the driving factors was, with offering a church to a community, you have to have the right mix of space for children, youths and adults. With the demographic we had coming, we just did not have enough space for our kids." Yet, space for children was not the sole driver of the expansion, said Tombs. So many people were attending the trio of Sunday services that capacity was becoming an issue, said the support pastor. "We just wanted to be able to put ourselves in a position for future growth and this was a great opportunity for us to do that," he said. Previously, The Meeting House's theatre space held approximately 1,300 seats. With offering a church to a community, you have to have the right mix of space for children, youths and for adults. With the demographic we had coming, we just did not have enough space for our kids. Ministry support pastor Rod Tombs The facility also features new auditoriums, one of which can house an event for 400 people. Two additional auditoriums hold approximately 300 people and 200 people respectively. Tombs said rooms for children's classes, where youngsters receive care while their parents attend services, have also been expanded. A recent open house showcased the facility's 30 redesigned multi-purpose rooms. The Meeting House is known for hosting conferences, concerts, meetings and multicultural events. The expansion began mid-July and was completed by Christmas. Tombs noted it was funded through community fundraisers. "Our community is very generous and they were quite willing to commit to us on a longterm basis," he said. "We're very fortunate." For more information, call 905-287-7052 or visit www.themeetinghouse.com. The Meeting House held a grand opening of its expanded Bristol Circle facility Friday. The northeast Oakville facility houses two auditoriums and a state-of-the art 1,700-seat theatre, the largest in Halton. From left, senior pastor Tim Day, events and rentals co-ordinator Shirl Pequegnat and Oakville Mayor Rob Burton try out the seats in the new theatre during a tour of the facility. | photo by Graham Paine Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_ photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) www.oakville.ca Open house and workshop Downtown Plan January 30, 2014 Town Hall, 1225 Trafalgar Road 7 p.m. insp i r e. con ect n . pr o te c t . Agenda for the evening will include: Open House -- 6:30-7 p.m. Performance by High Rendition Jazz -- 6:50 p.m. Downtown Study Presentation -- 7:10 p.m. Downtown Cultural Hub Workshop -- 7:30 & 8:25 p.m. Downtown Transportation and Streetscape Workshop -- 7:30 p.m. & 8:25 p.m. Discussion Wrap up -- 9:20 p.m. We'll ask you to join the workshop discussions with questions such as: What do you think is the role of culture in Oakville? If you are a performing artist or part of an arts/culture organization, what do you think of the current cultural facilities; what is working and what is not? As an Oakville resident, what cultural/arts component do you think should be included in the cultural hub? And for businesses and retailers, what do you need to keep the downtown a vital commercial area? The Town of Oakville is ready for winter weather. Armed with plows, sand and salt, our crews are ready to clear your roads and sidewalks as quickly and effectively as possible. For more information on snow clearing visit oakville.ca or call the snow line at 905-815-5999. Q: When does the town clear roads? · Primary and secondary roads, such as Trafalgar Road and West Oak Trails, are salted and plowed first to achieve Plus, how do we improve the flow of people, cyclists and vehicles in downtown? How can we make the streets look and function better? How can we make better use of our water views? These are just a few of the questions we'll ask you on January 30. We need your input to get the best output! Our current facilities do not meet the needs of our users today. This is an extraordinary opportunity for this community to build facilities that are competitive with those in our area and satisfy the needs of our users today and tomorrow. Join us to find out more and to share your ideas with us! To RSVP for January 30, email us downtownplan@oakville.ca or call and leave a message at 905-338-4710. For more information and to complete the Oakville Community Arts and Culture Survey, visit www.oakville.ca. Join us and share your thoughts on the plans to create a downtown cultural hub and redesign of the downtown streetscape. We'll start with a brief background presentation on the Downtown Plan, followed by the study consultants sharing what they heard after three days of stakeholder interviews, and then we want to hear from you! www. bare pavement. This also maintains access throughout town for emergency service vehicles. · Residential roads are only plowed when snow accumulations reach 7.5 centimetres. Residential roads are not plowed or salted to achieve bare pavement and periodic snow-pack conditions can be expected. Residential roads are sanded when conditions warrant, at hills, curves and intersections. · The town has a Salt Management Plan to manage salt use and minimize environmental impacts.