By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
RM of Corman Park councillors voted during their March 31 meeting to deny a request from the Langham and District Heritage Museum to assist with the cost of repainting its historic location, a former Canadian National Railway station building.
As noted in a report to council, the museum is owned by the Town of Langham and also houses the local library. It began operation in 1993 and is a focal point for social engagement, drawing more than 3,000 visitors in 2025 alone.
Financially, the museum had a balanced year in 2025 with revenue and expenses totalling $37,205.78. In addition to its normal operations, the museum does engage in fundraising activities, including a Valentine’s Bake Sale, a Dirty Thirties luncheon, the Fall Harvest Vegetable Sale and a Steak Nite.
In 2025, the museum also created two new project co-ordinator positions that are responsible for fundraising, promoting the museum over social media, submitting grant applications and cataloguing artifacts.
Recently, the Town of Langham obtained quotes for preparing and painting the museum in the range of $16,000 to $24,000.
In 2004, the RM contributed $6,000 in public reserve funds towards painting of the museum, but has not donated any money since. This year’s request was for an unspecified amount.
Division 6 Councillor Steven Balzer said he did not see this as Corman Park’s responsibility, adding, “I feel that the town itself should be standing up and deciding whether they want this museum in their community.”
RIVER RIDGE TRAILS
Council also passed a motion to defer a request from the River Ridge Trails Group, a non-profit group which has operated the year-round trail system north of Langham since 2020.
As noted in a background report, the trail system supports a wide range of recreational and community uses, including bike races, cross-country running and skiing events, snowshoeing, tobogganing, school activities and other community gatherings.
The organization is now seeking to address several upcoming needs, including the replacement of a site fence (about $8,000), purchasing lawn maintenance equipment ($6,000 to $10,000) and replacing their storage shed overhead door (approximately $5,000).
The request was for an unspecified amount. However, the RM previously contributed $24,500 to the Langham Trail Association in 2020 and $10,000 to River Ridge Trails in 2023.
Reeve Joe Hargrave commented that he found it “very difficult” to support this request without knowing more about who is giving the group money and if that includes other municipalities.
“If they’re just coming to us for the money, that’s not good enough for me,” he said.
Division 2 Councillor John Saleski said he was not opposed to a donation as the group operates within the RM, albeit on Crown land.
He put forward the motion to defer the group’s request until a future council meeting in order to get more info from them.