If the residents of Brunel Ward are opposed in any way to the idea of the Muskoka Montessori School assuming responsibility for the Brunel Community Hall they didn’t show up at the public meeting this week to let their opinions be known.
Nor, contrary to rumours circulating on social media, has the Town received any correspondence related to the matter or interest from any other parties in purchasing the building.
The meeting was held to gauge public support or opposition to the idea of the Muskoka Montessori School assuming ownership of the building through a reversionary agreement, which would see title to the Hall transfer to the school for a nominal fee until such time as the school would no longer be using the building. At that point the Town would have first right to take back title.
About 40 people, mostly from the Montessori community and a few close neighbours, attended the meeting.
Jennifer Daynard, Muskoka Montessori Teacher, gives a brief explanation of the Montessori teaching philosophy at a meeting about Brunel Hall on Monday night (May 30).
What Council heard from those in attendance was how great the Muskoka Montessori School has been as a neighbour, what an asset the school is to the community, and concern for what would happen to the property when/if the school decided to leave the location or if the Town decided to sell it to the highest bidder.
I love having the Montessori School as neighbours and if the Town is selling it to them that is great. My big concern is what about in the future if they do continue to grow and move, what becomes of that building because the same community feel that they have is what we love about it too and I don’t want to see that lost with the Town losing control of that building.
Abutting neighbour Ian McTavish
Nancy Samuell, who lives up the hill from the school, reminded the audience that prior to the Montessori School becoming a full-time tenant the building was sitting empty and being vandalized. She cautioned that the days of card parties and Stag and Does are over. “I think that having a Montessori School in Huntsville is a real asset to the town,” Samuell said. “I don’t want people to have the idea that they can take it back as a community hall. I don’t think that that is something that is reasonable.”
The Town of Huntsville has been grappling with how to operate and fund the community halls in the area for some time now. At the encouragement of the mayor, Town staff has been meeting with the various community hall boards to determine the best operating model to meet the needs of each community.
Some halls, like the one in Port Sydney, are still actively used. While others, like Chaffey Hall, no longer operate as a community hall.
The Brunel Hall has not been used as a community hall since 1999 when the Muskoka Montessori School became its full-time tenant. And although the school pays $22,248 a year in rent, recent unfunded capital repairs to the building have left the Town with a $56,000 debt in the building’s capital reserve account.
Mayor Scott Aitchison says with the newly-legislated requirement that the Town set aside money each year to repair and replace capital assets he has been encouraging staff to look at different ways of doing business and to consider whether there are some assets it is best the Town not own.
Do we need to own that piece of real estate (Brunel Community Hall) for it to do what it does best? Is it best as a school, or should it be a community hall again? And should the taxpayer have to continue to put money aside to replace things for that building? So, the question is, if it’s a school, why not just let it be a school? And can we get that asset off the taxpayers’ books so we can take that money and fund the halls that are being used as community halls because we just can’t afford to do everything we need to do.Mayor Scott Aitchison
Speaking on behalf of the board of the Muskoka Montessori School, board chair Lela Shepley-Gamble told the gathering that she wanted to make it perfectly clear that the Montessori School did not approach the Town with the idea of buying the building for two dollars. “We were just happily going along with our lease and feeling like everything was great,” said Shepley-Gamble. “And then the Town approached us and gave us this offer, and we responded to it. I would like that part of the record set straight which is that this isn’t something that just flew out of our head; we were approached by the Town.”
Next steps:
A staff report and recommendation based on the public meeting will come to Council on June 29. Council wants to make a decision on the operating model prior to discussing its 2017 operating budget.
Best Quotes of the evening:
Montessori Teacher Cindy Bagshaw ~ I think of our school the way I think of a lot of schools: It’s not a money-making proposition. We provide education for the children. I see magic happen at our school every day.
Mayor Scott Aitchison ~ We wanted to hear from residents of Brunel – didn’t we Councillor from Brunel? I’m just curious if there is anyone from Brunel who thinks we shouldn’t sell it to the Montessori School? Sounds like there’s no opposition so …. Awesome.
Neighbour Zelda Dwyer ~ I’m all in favour of selling the building to the Montessori School for a dollar. There might be other people who don’t agree with me but … they’re not here tonight!
See earlier related story: Muskoka Montessori School would like to buy Brunel Hall for two dollars
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With respect, why should a senior level of government have to legislate the requirement of a capital reserve account? Capital assets depreciate: No private corporation could afford to be run this way. The taxpayer is on the hook either way; but at least a reserve account can be invested (which is far superior to robbing Peter to pay Paul, or an ad hoc tax increase).
And with the reversionary agreement, will the School just walk away when more cost-prohibitive capital repairs are required? It would be far superior to include a codicil in the sale agreement, which would require them to maintain a significant portion of their foregone rental costs in a capital reserve account.