Hall volunteers will be asked to commit to fundraising
Monday’s council agenda included the much-anticipated engineer’s report containing detailed floor plans for renovations that would bring Clearview’s six community halls into compliance with accessibility standards.
RJ Burnside engineer Peter Mensinga outlined some of the design details needed in order for the halls to meet standards set out in The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the township’s own modified Facility Accessibility Design Standards (FADS). The designs, completed in consultation with hall volunteers, also address septic system updates, kitchen upgrades, fire safety standards, parking and some structural repairs.
“It’s not just about the renovations,” said Terry Vachon, general manager of parks, culture and recreation. “It’s about the longevity of these hall, about the commitment of our volunteers. There’s a lot at stake here with these renovations.”
The report estimates the price tag for all six halls to be about $5,675,000, with Avening having the highest cost at $1,489,000, followed by Nottawa at $1,080,000, Duntroon at $952,000, Brentwood at $767,000, Sunnidale at $694,000, and Dunedin at $693,000.
Last year, council voted “in principle” to bring all six halls up to accessibility standards and requested an update from the engineer that would include costing.
Councillor Robert Walker said he is concerned about the cost and the future of the halls, including the commitment of community volunteers.
“I’m tossed. I understand the importance of the halls in those communities and at one point in time they were the community but people have changed directions have changed priorities have changed so I am a little concerned that spending that kind of money and moving forward that in two or three years’ time we could end up with three or four halls not in operation,” he said.
On March 7, council voted in favour of eight staff corresponding recommendations tabled by Vachon. Boiled down, council agreed to continue to own the halls and proceed with the renovations. Council also agreed to enter into 10-year agreements with the volunteer hall boards, with which they will negotiate a fundraising commitment of 10-20 per cent of total construction costs financed over 10 years (addressing possible fundraising shortfalls and potential outcomes of lack of community interest).
Clearview Township will hire RJ Burnside to complete the full engineering drawings to be prepared for tender. Councillors agreed that a minimum of two halls will be renovated per year, and that township staff will aggressively source capital grants to assist in offsetting the total cost of accessibility renovations.
COA John Ferguson said he will conduct an internal review to see if there is someone on staff who can oversee the project and if not, the township will hire a project manager.
A big part of the accessibility renovations is the need for elevators at five of the hall (excluding Brentwood, which is a one-storey building). Council voted Monday to cover the annual inspection and licenses fees of the elevators.
Now, there will be a special meeting scheduled to finalize the next steps including the tendering process, construction guidelines, executing agreements with hall boards, finalizing financing agreements and bylaws for the project as a whole and commitment by taxpayers.
Lastly, council will have to determine which halls are renovated first.
“This is a complicated process in order to deal with these old buildings and we’re doing the best we can to deliver what the community has asked for so I think that we’re moving in the right direction and I think we have the financial plan that is going to be developed to demonstrate how we can do this,” said Mayor Doug Measures.
The vote passed unanimously.