The Algonquin Family Health Team (AFHT) has revoked its earlier request to move its wellness hub to the second floor of the Active Living Centre (ALC), instead asking Huntsville’s General Committee for exclusive rental of a single meeting room at the ALC and a $35,000 loan to renovate its existing space on the second floor of the Canada Summit Centre.
The request will result in $4,050 per year in additional rental revenue for the Town – more than double what it receives in most years for that meeting room – and interest of approximately $1,600 over the 5-year loan period (charged at 1.96 per cent). Had the original plan to move offices been implemented, the Town would have seen a bill for leasehold improvements of approximately $77,000 that it said would have been recouped through increased rental fees.
At its January 25 meeting, General Committee heard a deputation from Lynn Sharer, CEO and Executive Director of the Algonquin Family Health Team, a not-for-profit organization funded by the Ministry of Health.
She said that the AFHT board recognized that the space they had initially requested in the ALC will not allow for future growth. The Wellness Hub – which has two nurse practitioners who care for their patients and also offers a variety of health-related public programs – has experienced 40 per cent growth over the past six years, Sharer told Committee.
“We went into plan B,” she said. “What do we do now because we still have a problem?”
The AFHT wants to keep The Wellness Hub at the Canada Summit Centre, but the space doesn’t meet standards for privacy and safety. Plan B – moving its programs to the meeting room at the Active Living Centre – would free up space to renovate the existing location to accommodate additional office space, a private clinical room and clinical supply storage.
The estimated cost to renovate the space, upgrade to medical-grade wiring, and purchase other needed equipment would be $94,342. The Ministry of Health generally won’t provide funding for capital projects, noted Sharer, but the AFHT was able to redirect some of its operational funding to save $59,400 leaving it short by just under $35,000.
“We don’t have this upfront and we are prepared to sign the new lease with a payback over a five-year period and we will be very good for that,” said Sharer.
Councillor Stone questioned whether the new agreement would be premature with the Muskoka Algonquin Health System Transformation (MAHST) Council looking to “reinvent local health care”.
Sharer replied that she sits on two of the MAHST committees and said that “it’s more of a governance amalgamation of some of the health organizations and not necessarily changing the services that we provide on the ground.”
Deputy Mayor Karin Terziano’s concern was a financial one; she said she is supportive of the wellness hub but questioned whether the Town should be in the business of loaning money and asked if the AFHT had approached a private lender. Sharer said that she didn’t believe her contract would allow for it.
Because the Canada Summit Centre and Active Living Centre are deemed a Municipal Capital Facility, under the Municipal Act the Town does have the option of lending money to its tenants and it can do so at less than fair market value (Ontario Municipal Act 2001, section 110 (3)). The staff report said that the $35,000 loan to the AFHT would be at the Infrastructure Ontario rate of 1.96 per cent (as at January 16, 2017); the Bank of Canada prime lending rate is 2.70 per cent as of today. Should The Wellness Hub move out of the space, they will still be responsible for paying back any loan amount outstanding.
Mayor Scott Aitchison voiced support for the recommendation, and said, “I appreciate where Deputy Mayor Terziano is coming from that we are not a bank but it probably speaks to the fact that we’re not particularly good at being landlords either. This is a pretty standard leasehold improvement where the tenant is paying us back…I think the larger question is should we be in the landlord-tenant business? In this particular circumstance, I’m excited about it.”
The motion was carried with only Terziano voting against it. Councillor Brian Thompson was absent from the meeting. Town staff will report back to General Committee with the proposed lease and loan agreements for final approval.
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