SARAH WILLIAMS

STAFF WRITER

Prince Edward County Council is moving ahead with plans to acquire the former Queen Elizabet Public School property. During the May 11 Committee of the Whole Meeting, Council received a report detailing further considerations for this acquisition from Chuck Dowdall, Director of Housing.

The Hastings & Prince Edward Public School Board has not, as of yet, accepted the joint proposition between the municipality and Prince Edward Lennox & Addington Social Services (PELASS) to purchase the property.

Nonetheless, staff recommends proceeding with the expression of interest, with the expectation a deal regarding the price of the property can be reached.

If the bid for the school is successful, staff is recommending that two acres of the site be repurposed for affordable housing to be developed by the Prince Edward Affordable Housing Corporation.

Should the bid for the property be successful, staff is also recommending council elect a Tenant Selection Committee that should include councillors, community agencies, community residents, and municipal staff. This committee will make recommendations to council on the tenant mix of the development and on the potential sale of land related to the development.

According to the report, the County hopes to attract various agencies that are currently operating with the opportunity to have access to shared space, supporting a coordinated service delivery model. As well, organizations that are mandated to serve Prince Edward County and currently have minimal presence in the community are also encouraged to submit an expression of interest. All expressions of interest will be reviewed by the Tenant Selection Committee.

Councillor Sam Branderhorst

All expressions of interest will be reviewed and by the committee using the following criteria:

Provide community service and programming to residents of Prince Edward County
Provide service and programming that has a focus on supporting health and wellness in the community
Willing to engage residents through civic participation opportunities
Provide programs and services for individuals, youth, and families
Commit to the principles of shared space and collaborative learning and have demonstrated tis commitment in related projects
Demonstrate overall financial capacity that will be sustainable for ongoing collaborations
Demonstrate overall financial capacity that will be sustainable for ongoing collaborations
Commitment to taking occupancy within six months after project completion and tenancy approval. The County reserves the right to ask for alternate expressions of interest should an approved tenant not meet the six month occupancy deadline.

Councillor Sam Branderhorst encouraged members of the public to read the report and inquired as to the nature of the agencies who might occupy space on the property.

“This is a fantastic read and I encourage anyone from the public to read this. It’s a neat tenant space agreement, but I want a little clarification,” said Branderhorst. “Will these groups be basically self sufficient? They’ll be almost an entity unto themselves?”

Dowdall confirmed that any interested agencies must be self-supporting.

“They have to confirm ongoing operating dollars as well as ongoing capital operations,” he said.

Councillor Maynard echoed Branderhorst’s praise and and sought clarifications regarding the expression of interest.

“This is a good news story. On the tenancy, it’s my understanding we’re getting an expression of interest out so that all parties will have a chance to submit their package that will be scored and adjudicated by the selection committee along with other community partners,” inquired Maynard. “I think we’ve got a way to go but this is a good start. We’ll get the expression of interest out and hope the schoolboard agrees to sell it to us.”

Dowdall offered that staff wanted to get the expression of interest out now as interested agencies have a sizeable amount of information to submit as part of the application process.

Affordable Housing Executive Director Charles Dowdall. (Desirée Decoste/Gazette File Photo)

“We wanted to get this out fast because proponents need to submit a considerable amount of information,” said Dowdall.

Meanwhile, CAO Marcia Wallace offered a point of clarification regarding the Tenant Selection Committee and the role of the Prince Edward Affordable Housing Corporation (PEHAC).

“I want to make sure everyone is clear, the Tenant Selection Committee will not be managed by PEHAC. Whatever the tenancy committee comes up with will come back to council for final approval,” Wallace stated. “The idea is some of this property could be separated and broken apart. This is very much a municipally run project meaning we are the landlords of that land until council decides to break off pieces and give or sell to anyone else.”

Staff is also recommending that redevelopment of the property of the include affordable housing units, childcare programming, and a community meeting space.

According to the report, childcare programming for the development would be delivered through a “consortium of childcare providers” with funding supports from Prince Edward-Lennox & Addington Social Services. The childcare programming would be within the community facility with the intention of providing 50-75 childcare spaces.

“Currently, there is funding available for an additional 64 childcare spaces in the County from PELASS which has not been assigned due to the lack of physical space for childcare,” wrote Dowdall. “The proposed development would ensure these fully funded spaces not being utilized would be brought onstream.”

After some deliberation, Councillors Sam Branderhorst, Corey Engelsdorfer, Kate McNaughton, and Janice Maynard along with Mayor Steve Ferguson were appointed to the Tenant Selection Committee.

With a joint $1 million offer between the County and PELASS on the table, the school board is expected to come to a decision later this month.

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