Sollerö Parish Hall - an attractive and lively gathering place for parishioners and visitors

The takeover. On August 23, 2017, Sollerö Parish Association signed the deed of purchase to acquire the Municipal House from Mora Municipality and just before the turn of the year we received title deed to the property. Thus, a long and somewhat complicated process was successfully concluded. And the Municipal House was renamed Sollerö Parish House – up in Båkkam.

The takeover took place according to the terms decided by an extraordinary general meeting on 27 May 2015. The agreement with Mora Municipality included a purchase price of 1 krona and a contribution of 600,000 kr for investments and repairs. In addition, the municipality guaranteed to rent the library premises for 86,000 kr/year until March 2022. Subsequently, a new agreement was reached with an annually index-adjusted rent.

Big commitment. Taking over the Municipal Building was a big undertaking for the parish association. But we were given a few years to put the building in good condition and get a steady income that exceeds the costs. There was also wind money at the parish's disposal - and still is - which, in competition with many other things, can be used for urgent improvements.

Improvements and maintenance. A lot has been done. Here are the most important measures: Connection to Mora Stadsnät with fixed connection and free Wi-Fi throughout the building, improvements to the large assembly hall Lärkasalen with, among other things, new technical equipment and new flooring, new catering kitchen, interior painting of large parts of the building, streamlining of the heating and ventilation system, new storage areas, new locking system, new ceiling fixtures in many areas, a "Service Point" separate from the Parish Office and an office in the third room of the apartment. We have made repairs, for example, repairing the elevator and drainage work. But it is not surprising, the Parish House is old and worn.

Both large and small work remains, both externally and internally. Some of it is necessary as soon as possible. Examples include repairing moisture damage on the eastern gable and replacing broken tiles. In order to further reduce the high energy costs, we will make the heating control system even more efficient. The ambition is also to install solar cells on the back of the Parish House.

Rental of the premises is a prerequisite for managing the operation of the building. It has also gradually been filled with tenants. Lärkasalen and the Service Point are rented out for various gatherings, everything from small meetings to large parties.

Service points also provides extra income. For the operation, we have an agreement with Mora Municipality that has given us 50,000 SEK per year since the start and hopefully 75,000 from 2024. The agreement concerns five functions: community/citizen/association service, cultural activities, tourist information, free Wi-Fi, and meeting point/café corner with computer connection. Tourist information and meeting point will also be located in Koopen.

Collaboration with Mora municipality. Mora Municipality no longer owns the building, but we would still like to see a municipal presence. The library is a very nice place that should be used even more in a collaboration between the municipality and the Parish Association. In the library and in other places in and outside the building, we should be able to have exhibitions of various kinds and also give an appetizing taste of what the parish has to offer in various respects. We would also like to see municipal staff sometimes be on site both to do their regular jobs and to participate in our local development work.