Let's call it "The waiting game."
Right now, Humboldt's senior population is in limbo. The anticipated doubling of Canada's population 65 and over is still years away, so until then, the Humboldt Senior Citizens Club is scrambling to find volunteers and members to help out with events.
"We just don't have enough people anymore," Marguerite Cunningham, the president of the club's board, said.
The club has about 100 memberships but of that, only 25 are active members - meaning they put on everything from the club's monthly luncheons to the soup kitchen, fundraisers, bingo and everything in between.
"Years ago, there used to be between 500-600 members," Cunningham said. "Not anymore."
The dilemma of what to do with the seniors hall is an ongoing one and it all boils down to money.
At the club's annual meeting in February, it was determined that approximately $2,000 a month is needed to keep the doors of the club open.
The club owns the building outright, but has to pay insurance and property tax, on top of financially supporting various other initiatives the club undertakes. It's a demanding task when so few members are willing to help out, Cunningham said.
"Right now, our club is mostly comprised of people 75 and over," Cunningham said. "It's a lot to ask them to undertake all of this."
Cunningham said there really aren't that many younger seniors in the club, those in their 60s. She points to adults working later into their life nowadays as a reason for this.
Even Cunningham herself, who is not only the club's president but the treasurer as well, works twice a week at PARTNERS Family Services doing their bookkeeping.
The club and their hall rely heavily on the unwavering generosity of the community that surrounds them just to keep the engine rolling.
James Folster, a board member who runs the soup kitchen every Thursday, said the Bella Vista Inn, Westminster United Church and the St. Augustine Catholic Women's League regularly donate soup and food for the kitchen.
"Even the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Quill Lake has volunteers driving up here once a month to help out with our soup kitchen," Folster said.
The local Knights of Columbus chapter helps out from time to time and even local funeral homes will donate spreads of food left over from wakes.
As appreciated as those gestures are, the board is looking for more support from one other party: the City of Humboldt.
One of the options the club is considering would turn the seniors hall into a community centre. But Folster and Cunningham say the facility is already that, given the number of organizations and people who rent the space for events.
"If they need us to change the sign, we'll change it," Cunningham said, referring to the fact that the outside signage designates the building as a "seniors centre" despite its heavy use by the entire community.
Board members would like to see the City of Humboldt more accountable for some of the financial aspects of the building.
Cunningham believes since it's used by a wide variety of people other than seniors, it's unfair that the monthly payments fall entirely on the backs of club members. She and fellow board members believe the city should help out financially, or at least designate a part-time coordinator to help manage rentals and events that can raise funds to keep the facility going.
"The city needs to take responsibility," Cunningham said.
Mayor Malcolm Eaton, an outspoken advocate for seniors' welfare in the past, said council would be willing to help out financially, as long as it's in partnership with either the seniors' club or another organization. He also added that as with any concern brought to council, these decisions take time and discourse.
Eaton also went on to say that much credence and attention will be given to the seniors' voices as the city's strategic planning process gets underway.
People like Folster and Cunningham are confident that the city will do everything they can in due time.
"We're just looking for help," Cunningham added. "Volunteers, a coordinator, financial help, whatever it takes. We're running low on fumes now."
