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More information sought on proposed Learning Centre in Kincardine By Liz Dadson |
Kincardine council To Comment on this article Click Here |
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Kincardine council continues to be stuck in the past as far as a proposed Learning Centre is concerned. In committee-of-the-whole last night (May 12), mayor Larry Kraemer dragged council through another history lesson on how Kincardine came to be host to a possible centre of energy excellence. Last month, Kraemer and deputy mayor Laura Haight were at odds on whether proper process had been followed, given that Kraemer also sits on the board of the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative which will be running the proposed Learning Centre. Last night, Kraemer went through the entire process to demonstrate he was authorized by council to get support for the Learning Centre at the old Westario Power building. He said the process dates back to when he was mayor the first time - two terms ago - and mention was made of an education centre in Kincardine, sponsored by Ontario Power Generation (OPG). Much of the information Kraemer brought to the municipality was presented to the economic development committee. He said it has always been his intent to be up-front with council about this proposal. "This is a great opportunity," he said, "to create a true centre of energy excellence at a low price. I'm proud of what I have accomplished." Haight said she is not opposed to post-secondary education or the generous donation by OPG. Her concern is about process. She said council has one voice as expressed through bylaws and resolutions. Policies are developed to provide guidance to staff for implementation, and such policies are adopted by bylaw. Ideally, she said, the utilization of OPG's Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) agreement to secure funds for the Learning Collaborative and the terms for usage of the Westario building should have come before council for a full, frank and honest discussion at the council table. "Unfortunately, the process was not followed in this instance and we find ourselves here this evening trying to catch up and make the best decisions we can after the fact and in the best interests of the municipality," she said. Haight said that when the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative came to council asking for moral support, it wasn't fully explained that the group was seeking financial support as well. "It has become abundantly clear that the DGR agreement is at the core of the funding being provided by OPG to the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative," she said. "What is still unclear is the municipality's involvement or encouragement of OPG to support the efforts of the Collaborative through the use of the DGR. While it may be an appropriate use of the funds and the agreement, I believe council ought to have been apprised that the mayor was suggesting to OPG that the Learning Collaborative initiative was what we thought was the best usage of those clauses of the agreement." Unfortunately, she said, council has lost the opportunity to speak to those issues. "Maybe there are better partnerships, better initiatives more widely supported by our citizens - at the very least, it is a lost opportunity." Kraemer scoffed at that remark. Haight said the entire discussion should have happened last summer. "The mayor knew the agreement was in play and the mayor confirmed the municipality's position without adivsing council and without advising staff in November, 2009. ... The decisions made get made at this table and, in this case, it just did not happen." She offered support for the Learning Centre concept but not the use of the Westario building which will negatively impact the municipal finances.
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Haight suggested staff contact the Learning Collaborative to discuss physical space requirements to establish the Collaborative's presence in Kincardine whether it be at the Davidson Centre computer lab or in partnership with Bruce Community Futures or the local school board, and proceed from that point. "I am not opposed to post-secondary education, but I am disappointed in the process that brought us to this point this evening," she said. "I think we should move on," said councillor Ron Hewitt. "I fully support this (Learning Centre). It's at little cost to the municipality; let's go ahead." Councillor Mike Leggett agreed, saying there are agreements in place so lease it for four years and see what happens. "Then it's up to the next term of council to extend it," he said. "This horse shit has gone on long enough." Chief administrative officer John deRosenroll told council that the appraisal on the Westario building values it at $1 million. Councillor Guy Anderson said he wants to see how much square footage the Learning Centre actually requires, and he wants to see the group's business plan. Staff had a municipal decision tree set up that asked the first question: "Does council support the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative proposal, in principle?" Council agreed that it does. The next question was: "Does council have enough information to make an informed decision on this proposal?" Haight said she still doesn't see where council is on the hook for half of the rental fees - $25,000/year - which is matched by OPG, plus the $500,000 OPG is donating over four years toward setting up the Learning Centre. "Nothing was ever said about this," said Haight. "I understand it's your (Kraemer's) personal vision, but I don't see where we committed the entire building for this proposal." Kraemer argued that a company like OPG can see it just fine, which is why it put $500,000 toward the project. "Somebody has to come back with more information," said Hewitt, "so we can move forward on this." Council agreed to have staff bring forward the following information:
With that information in hand, council will discuss this proposal yet again at the June 9 corporate services committee meeting.
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