Kincardine council

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Kincardine council has directed staff to complete a lease with the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative, turning the old Westario Power building into a Learning Centre.

In committee-of-the-whole last night (June 16), chief administrative officer John deRosenroll said the four-year lease would be for the area currently occupied by McKechnie Pharmacy, at the west end of the building.

The rental rate would be $12.50/square foot, for a total annual rent of $25,143, he said, and the utilities and maintenance costs would be charged at 26 per cent of the total because the Learning Centre is occupying only 26 per cent of the space. That means of the $5,646.83 total charge, the Learning Centre would be paying only $214.24.

Taxation would be $5,720 per year, and given the Learning Centre's non-profit status, it could apply for a 40-per-cent tax rebate, said deRosenroll.

The Learning 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 will be incorporated into the agreement.

The lease would begin in September, once McKechnie Pharmacy is relocated back to the Kincardine Community Medical Clinic, deRosenroll said.

If accepted, as outlined, the lease would come to council for final consideration at the July 7 meeting, he said.

"Why are they (Learning Collaborative) paying only 26 per cent of the utilities when the west end is the only part to be heated and maintained?" asked councillor Guy Anderson.

The Kincardine emergency command centre (MOC) is located in the basement of the building, said deRosenroll. Plus, if another group wants to rent part of the building, it would pay its equal share of the utility costs.

"What is the municipal contribution to the Learning Centre?" asked councillor Kenneth Craig.

"Westario Power paid about $50,000 to $60,000 per year in rent," said deRosenroll.

"So, is that actually being paid to us or are we contributing that?" asked Craig.

"The rent is being directly paid to the Municipality of Kincardine," said deRosenroll.

"Through the money from OPG (Ontario Power Generation)," added mayor Larry Kraemer.

"The agreement between OPG and the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative was for $125,000 per year," said deRosenroll. "The OPG money went to the Learning Collaborative and that group has an agreement with us to pay the rent."

"So, is the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative occupying the entire upstairs of the building?" asked Craig.

"The proposal was for the entire building to become a Learning Centre," said Kraemer, "with a vision to it becoming a college."

"This is a start," agreed councillor Ron Hewitt. "I have no problem with the set-up; let's move on."

Craig said he is concerned that part of the building doesn't get rented out for use by a construction company, for example, which would preclude its use as a Learning Centre.

"We know it's ultimately going to be a Learning Centre," said Hewitt, "but if somebody wants it for something, we'd be foolish not to rent it out."

"The unfortunate part is there are still a lot of questions around the table about this issue," said councillor Randy Roppel. "If we go ahead with this endeavour, we are tying the hands of the new council for the next four years."

"We can't stop making decisions just because there's an election coming up," said Hewitt.

Anderson said he thought the Power Workers' Union was going to the use the bays in the old Westario Power building as a training centre. "If we're subsidizing the Learning Centre, I don't want to be subsidizing that," he said.

"We're not subsidizing it if we're getting full rent for it," argued Kraemer.

"We're getting $25,000/year which includes maintenance," said Anderson. "We're subsidizing it if we're giving them the entire building."

The municipality could give the education partners (Learning Collaborative) the first right of refusal on the space, said deRosenroll, and then rent it to other groups.

Deputy mayor Laura Haight said the Learning Collaborative is planning to offer one course in the fall - a small business course one night per week for 10 weeks.

"Are we handicapping the group from success?" she asked. "Have they looked at other buildings to allow this small idea to move forward? I'm not sure a former PUC (Public Utilities Commission) building with office space, bays and a warehouse out back, is designed to be a college."

She also asked why the municipality would maintain the grounds around a building if it were empty, except for the Learning Centre?

"We have to maintain it for the MOC and for community storage," said deRosenroll.

Haight said council should first have a serious debate about divesting itself of this asset before giving it away.

"The E-learn Network is there and offers many courses," said Kraemer.

Haight said the Learning Collaborative was supposed to provide a business plan for this building. 

"Are we getting into another situation where this project is supposed to work out great, but in the end, it's not a sustainable plan?" she asked. "We're getting involved in another jurisdiction we have no business being involved in."

Staff was just asked to bring forward a basic lease for this building - between the municipality and the Learning Collaborative, said deRosenroll.

Kraemer finally called the vote and council agreed to move ahead with the lease. Haight, Anderson and Roppel were against the proposal.

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010