Huntsville council will decide on October 26 whether to move forward with a request for proposal for the private management and operation of Muskoka Heritage Place.
Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison is the chair of that committee.
“Council is pretty serious about finding ways to deliver the service we deliver cheaper so that we can invest more money on roads.” Scott Aitchison
“We need to spend more like $6 million a year on capital projects for roads to get them up to snuff and we spend around $2 million, sometimes less than that if we’re trying to save money because we’ve overspent somewhere else, “ said Aitchison.
He said council is looking at savings throughout the entire corporation as well as generating more income through facilities that currently charge a fee.
He cited the University of Waterloo building as an example. He said the building was costing the Town about a quarter million per year. The Town renegotiated the lease agreement with the university for a more favourable rate as well as the ability to do more with the remainder of the space.
Aitchison said the Town is currently looking at a proposal made up of various partners, who are interested in taking over the balance of the space at the University of Waterloo building. He was pretty excited about the prospect, noting that it would also generate more business in Huntsville.
In terms of Muskoka Heritage Place, Aitchison said council is doing the facility a disservice.
“Every year we just sort of nickel and dime it and try to save money but at the end of the day we’re probably doing the place a pretty significant disservice and not actually doing anything productive with it.”
He said a request for proposal would outline what the municipality, which would retain control of the facility, is attempting to achieve in terms of programming and education at MHP.
“Is there a private individual or company that can come in and continue to offer that service and maybe make money at it, not lose money?” he questioned. “I don’t know if it’ll work, but council is prepared to give it a try.”
Aitchison said MHP is currently costing taxpayers an estimated $100,000 per year, and when you add community halls and other similar facilities to the mix – the costs add up.
He said such facilities – especially those that are not being used frequently – should be looked at from a different perspective.
The recommendation of issuing an RFP for the operation of Muskoka Heritage Place is expected to make its way to the October 26 council meeting for final approval.
Any proposals generated by the request will be presented the the Town’s general committee in March, 2016.
You are absolutely right, Fran Coleman! I wrote my comment in haste without thinking it through! It is disappointing that the Waterloo Centre did not pan out the way it was planned.
Martha,it is unfair to blame the people you mentioned for Waterloo centre for the environment.
It was a wise decision of Mayor and Council to seek out the the opportunity for a post secondary facility.
The G8 provided the venue to move forward and it was the right decision at the time.However,the Dean and the President changed and Waterloo committment changed.It is most unfair to blame our federal member and the PM for something that was beyond their control.Martha,as an educator I am sure you are well aware of the benefits of such a facility. I will stand by the decision at the time.I am sure we have all experienced similar situations in life.
When Tony Clement “gave ” us all that money (which was not HIS money, but OURS, the tax payers ‘ money for the G8 (and the G20 which was in fact not held here at all) I seem to remember we the people of Huntsville were told that the Waterloo building would create a significant amount of revenue. WOW…little did we know then that it would be COSTING us $250,000.00 a year! Boy, were we hood – winked!! Thank you, Tony and Mayor Doughty! This facility for Environmental Studies was to be an amazing boon to Huntsville ‘ economy! So much for the credibility of Harper, the economic guru and his sidekick ?