The Schubert Centre

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

The organization that founded the Schubert Centre in Vernon is suing the seniors centre claiming it has defaulted on a $121,000 loan.

According to a Notice of Claim filed at the Vernon courthouse Jan. 29, the Schubert Foundation is suing the Schubert Centre Society, alleging the seniors centre failed to make any payments towards the loan last year.

The court document said the Schubert Foundation, who do business as the Knights of Columbus, loaned the Schubert Centre Society $121,000 in 2015.

The Schubert Centre Society agreed to pay an annual interest rate of 5% and repay the loan on demand.

For the first five years, the Schubert Centre Society made annual payments of between $3,300 and $8,800 before requesting the interest be waived in 2021.

The court document said no payment was received in 2022 and a $5,100 payment was made in 2023.

"The (Schubert Centre Society) did not make an interest payment in 2024," the Notice of Claim read.

In November 2024, the Schubert Foundation issued a formal demand for the repayment of the loan in full, with interest.

"Despite the (Schubert Foundation's) demand, the (Schubert Centre Society) has failed and refused to repay the loan and the outstanding interest, thereby breaching the terms of the agreement," the Notice of Claims said.

The case highlights the dire financial situation of the much-loved Vernon seniors centre.

Since the pandemic, the centre has brought in half the amount of revenue it did previously.

Publicly available figures show in 2023 the centre brought in $486,000 but had expenditures of $561,000.

The amount of money the centre is bringing in is a fraction of what it once was.

In the 15 years running up to 2020, the centre brought in between $741,000 and $1,128,000 each year, although still ran a deficit each year.

However, something changed in 2021 and revenues were almost cut in half.

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The centre did respond by slashing expenses, which were also largely halved from the $1-million plus that they once were. In 2023, it spent $146,000 on staff wages, half the amount it had spent five years earlier.

However, the seniors’ centre was still short each year leaving it in the red anywhere between $70,000 and $200,000.

The Schubert Centre’s financial woes came to light in 2020 when it launched a fundraiser in the hope of raising $180,000 to buy a new heating system which it said needed replacing immediately.

In 2021, an online fundraiser was launched to raise $1-million to pay off some of the seniors centre’s debt. It’s no longer online and it unclear exactly how much money it raised, although it appears it only raised a few thousands dollars.

The Schubert Centre originally began as an idea in 1981 and over the next few years the Knights of Columbus financed and built the existing building. In 1988, the Schubert Centre Society was incorporated and has been running the centre since.

The Schubert Centre Society did not respond to iNFOnews.ca's request for comment and has not responded to the suit.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

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