(continued)

Two-year lease approved
for learning centre
By Liz Dadson

Kincardine council

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building

The old Westario Power building on Queen Street has been leased for use as a learning centre

elearn

The e-learn network also has its office in the old Westario Power building

Kincardine council has approved a two-year lease with the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative for use of the old Westario Power building on Queen Street, as a learning centre.

This issue has been on the books for a year-and-a-half while council debated and argued over what parts of the building were to be leased and for how much.

In the spring, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) announced $500,000 in funding over four years, for the learning centre.

Later, council argued that mayor Larry Kraemer, as a director of the learning collaborative, had used the Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) agreement as leverage for the funding. Kraemer insisted he had the support of council to bring post-secondary education to Kincardine.

In June, staff was to draw up a four-year lease agreement with the collaborative for use of the area that was occupied at that time by McKechnie Pharmacy, noting the following:

  • Rental rate would be $12.50/square foot, for a total annual rent of $25,143
  • Utilities and maintenance costs would be charged at 26 per cent of the total, which means the collaborative would pay only $214.24 of the total charge of $5,646.83
  • Taxation would be $5,720 per year, and the collaborative, as a non-profit organization, could apply for a 40-per-cent tax rebate
  • The collaborative would be responsible for all interior renovations, must hold standard insurance, and indemnification requirements, the area must be accessible to all residents, and a mutual exit clause would be incorporated into the agreement
  • The lease would begin in September once the pharmacy had relocated back to the Kincardine Community Medical Clinic

However, the collaborative wanted use of the entire building at the already-agree-upon price of $50,000 per year, with half subsidized by the Municipality of Kincardine.

A second lease agreement was hammered out but the collaborative's board of directors refused it.

The new council discussed the issue at its Dec. 9 meeting but had come to no conclusion.

Finally, at the Dec. 20 meeting, council agreed on a new two-year lease, which will begin Jan. 1, 2011, and run to Dec. 31, 2012.

This lease includes the following major items:

  • The collaborative will have use of the west end of the building as a post-secondary skill enhancement area
  • The municipality will donate the truck bays - a trade training industrial area - if needed by the collaborative. Until such time, the municipality will continue using that space for municipal purposes
  • The municipality retains the area for the emergency response centre and municipal vault (in the basement), the area currently used by the E-learn network, the community storage area at the east end, and all common areas (washrooms, halls, utility rooms and public parking)
  • Rental fee is $50,000 per year, with the municipality subsidizing $25,000 of that

 
  • The collaborative will pay $25,000 for utilities
  • All interior improvements are the responsibility of the collaborative
  • External and internal structural maintenance is the responsibility of the municipality
  • All maintenance and janitorial work related to the operation of the learning centre is at the collaborative's cost
  • Snow removal and general yard maintenance are the responsibility of the municipality

During committee-of-the-whole discussion Dec. 20, Kraemer spoke to the issue, with deputy mayor Anne Eadie chairing the meeting.

When asked what the difference was between the two proposed leases, Kraemer said the collaborative objected to having to pay $12.50/square foot for the truck bays which would amount to $57,000 per year.

However, he noted that if that area is leased to a commercial entity, the money would go into a capital fund for the municipality to maintain the building.

Councillor Kenneth Craig said the ideal tenant for that industrial training area is the municipality, itself. "If we store our snowplows in there, are we subject to the sub-tenant conditions?" he asked.

Kraemer said the municipality retains the rights to that space unless it is sublet to someone else.

The two-year lease was approved by council.

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010