Feature ArticleApril 29, 2004
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Hall woes in North Frontenac Township Halls have always been expensive to maintain, and the Municipal Properties Committee of North Frontenac has been taking a hard look at the five halls owned by the township with a view to determining how they can remain viable in the mid and long term. A preliminary report outlining the committees findings was presented at a special brainstorming meeting held last week to discuss council workload.The report, which was prepared by Committee chair David Smith, started off by saying the committee was very surprised at the amount of repairs that are needed to bring the halls up to standards. The halls are not unsafe, but are in need of work, especially Clar Mill Hall in Plevna.
Councillor Smith told the News that the immediate needs of the halls are not huge, mostly a matter of smoke detectors and exit lights, but we will soon be looking at greater expenses, especially at the Clar Mill Hall, which needs a new roof. There were costing figures in the report but Smith cautioned they are preliminary figures. We havent had an engineer, electrician, or a plumber out to see what is really needed and what the real costs will be. We also havent looked at the Fire Halls, so it is really too early to say what the costs will be to bring everything the township owns up to standard.
One figure that is available is the ongoing maintenance costs paid by the township towards the upkeep of the halls. It was over $59,000 in 2003. As well, the cost of bringing the halls into compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act will have to be considered.
The committee proposed several options to the brainstorming session. One of the proposals calls for the Council to maintain ownership of the halls but turn over some responsibility, and costs, to local organizations. Another would be to sell the halls outright, for $1, to community organizations who would then take on the entire responsibility for their upkeep.
A third proposal calls for selling all the halls and building one community centre.
There are also two less radical proposals mentioned. One proposal says township could run the halls as they do now and put in a 30-year strategic plan whereby monies would be budgeted each year to cover the costs of repairs and upgrades. The other calls for the township to keep the halls and solicit fundraising support from local organizations.
Smith emphasized that these proposals are merely five ideas that the committee came up with, and the committee hopes to see Council budget for the immediate repairs this year, and call an open public meeting this summer to discuss the possibilities, some of which would have a direct impact on the tax rate within the township.
A factor that is sure to be considered is how much use the public makes of each of the halls.
North Frontenac, with five community halls, has a high concentration of halls compared to other municipalities, and it has a small tax base, making them very expensive for each taxpayer within the municipality. Central Frontenac has four halls, Addington Highlands only two, and South Frontenac three.
The issue of township halls came up at this weeks regular NF Council meeting, when Councillors Smith and Hook had a testy exchange with Mayor Ron Maguire over comments Mayor Maguire had made. Hook and Smith felt the Mayor had insinuated that previous Councils had neglected the township halls.
In the end, the Municipal Properties Committee report is still to be formally brought before Council, at which time a formal discussion will take place, and public consultation on how to deal with each hall can then be organized.
