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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-111-08 Addendum Clam REPORT Leading the way PLANNING SERVICES Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING c Date: Monday, December 1, 2008sol� � cP�-bsa c� Addendum to Report#: PSD-111-08 File #: RE 16.32 By-law M Subject: PETERBOROUGH VICTORIA NORTHUMBERLAND AND CLARINGTON CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD SURPLUS PROPERTY SALE - ST. STEPHEN'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Addendum to Report PSD-111-08 be received; 2. THAT the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board be advised that the Municipality of Clarington declines the Offer to Purchase the St. Stephen's Elementary School, 80 Rhonda Boulevard, Bowmanville; and 3. THAT the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board and all interested parties be notified of Council's decision. Submitted by: Davi . Crome, MCIP, RPP Reviewed by: Franklin Wu, Director of Planning Services Chief Administrative Officer IUFL/sn/df 25 November 2008 CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T 905-623-3379 F 905-623-0830 ADDENDUM TO REPORT NO.: PSD-111-08 PAGE 2 1.0 BACKGROUND 1.1 On November 3, 2008 the General Purpose and Administration Committee, through resolution #GPA-601-08, referred Report PSD-111-08 back to staff for a review of any environmental aspects of the facility and for consideration of any opportunity for this facility to be used by the Clarington Older Adult Association. 1.2 On November 20th a tour of the building was given by Stephen MacPhee, Manager of Purchasing, Planning and Facility Administration for the School Board, to members of Council, staff, the Executive Director of the Older Adult Association and members of their Board of Directors; the President of the Board of Directors of the Visual Arts Centre and the Administrator of Clarington Home Support, Community Care Durham also attended. 2.0 POTENTIAL USES FOR MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENTS 2.1 As noted in Report PSD-111-08, all Departments were canvassed to determine if there any potential uses for future facilities or programs. No municipal department has identified any potential use. 3.0 POTENTIAL USE FOR RELATED AGENCIES COMMUNITY GROUPS OR OTHER USES Further to Council's resolution of November 3, 2008, and further comments made at November 10th Council meeting, staff reviewed with a number of municipality-related groups regarding the potential for the use of St. Stephens Elementary School. 3.1 Clarington Older Adult Association (COAA) Members of the Board and the Executive Director attended the site visit. The COAA is unable to provide formal comments on their potential use of the property until the Board members are available to meet during the week of December 1St. The Executive Director of the Association will provide comments from the Board to Council for the Council meeting of December 8th. The COAA are currently in the process of reviewing their long-term space needs and are planning to undertake a strategic plan in 2009 with respect to their long-term requirements. We understand that their most immediate needs would be met in the existing facility in space occupied by other tenants. 3.2 Community Care Durham Community Care Durham attended the site visit. At the present time, Council authorized sole source negotiations with Community Care for the use of the Total Hockey space. They are looking for office space for home support and COPE programs. The property is not on a local transit stop, it is not wheelchair accessible, there is no air conditioning, there is limited parking, the costs of renovating the building and any costs associated with the removal of asbestos is unknown. The Administrator has indicated that the St. Stephens School is not desirable for their purposes. ADDENDUM TO REPORT NO.: PSD-111-08 PAGE 3 3.3 Clarington Library The Library Director has indicated that there are no funds available to purchase this property. Should the site be acquired by the Municipality the library could use the building for seasonal storage, administrative archives, storage of items for the annual Durham sale, storage of bulk library supplies, a public training room and internet facilities. 3.4 Visual Arts Centre The location of the property is not suitable for a public art centre as it is in an isolated residential neighbourhood where there is little pedestrian traffic. The Visual Arts Centre would prefer a central location in the downtown core. Their concerns with the site included that the property is not directly on a transit route, there is insufficient parking available on site, it is not wheelchair accessible, and although the rooms could be used for studios, classrooms and exhibition spaces, many of the walls are cement block which is a challenge for exhibiting wall art. The President of the Board of Directors does not recommend that the property be acquired for the Visual Arts Centre's use. 3.5 Community Resource Centre At the present time, the Municipality leases space to community organizations in its facilities. This includes the Beech Centre, leased space to a daycare and Community Care and of the Court House/former Fire Station building on Church Street with leased space for the John Howard Society, Community Living Oshawa and the Ontario Realty Corporation for the Provincial Courts. The Firehouse Youth Centre is one of the programs operated by John Howard Society. The Court Service lease will expire when the Consolidated Courthouse in Oshawa is operational. As the Municipality continues to grow, there will inevitably be a need for additional space for municipal staff. One option would be the use of Court House/Fire Hall building for expansion requirements. If Council wanted to continue to provide space for the existing tenants and other social services and youth oriented organizations, such as Grandview Children's Centre, Big Brothers/Sisters or the YMCA, consideration could be given to the St. Stephen's School facility. At this time, however, there is no way of knowing whether this facility would meet the needs of these various agencies, how much each organization could contribute to the purchase and operation of the centre or whether some of their programs could be operated out of other Municipal facilities to create synergies with the Municipality's recreational programs. St. Stephens School is not ideally located for this type of facility and there is no time to explore the feasibility of this concept. 3.6 Social Housing or Social Services Regional Housing staff were contacted to inquire whether there may be a Regional use for the site for social housing. At the present time there is no funding available from senior levels of government for the Region to expand is supply of social housing stock. Even if there was funding, the site would need to be evaluated in relation to community ADDENDUM TO REPORT NO.: PSD-111-08 PAGE 4 needs across the Region and the suitability for conversion or redevelopment. There is no other identified need for the expansion of social services. The Region of Durham is one of the public agencies that was circulated by the Separate School Board for consideration of the site. The Region has their own opportunity to express an interest in this facility in the same manner as Clarington as they are one of the circulated agencies. 4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS 4.1 Jacques Whitford Limited was commissioned by the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board to conduct an Asbestos- Containing Building Materials Assessment of St. Stephen's Elementary School. The report, dated June 13, 2008, was completed to assist the Board in meeting requirements of the new asbestos regulation, Ontario Regulation 278/05 made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. 4.2 The Assessment's summary of findings identified the following: ■ linoleum sheet flooring as a friable asbestos-containing material. Friable materials are those which can easily be crumbled or broken apart thereby dispersing asbestos fibres into the atmosphere. The linoleum sheet flooring, which is located on the first floor, was observed as being in good condition; ■ the floor tile on both the first and second floors, which was identified as a non-friable asbestos-containing material. Non-friable materials are materials that do not break up easily. The existing floor tile was also noted as being in good condition; and ■ a list of presumed asbestos-containing materials was provided which included roofing materials, window, door and roof caulking materials, mastic, and chalkboards. The report notes that these materials were observed to be in good condition. 4.3 A number of materials that could not be tested due to access restrictions but that may have asbestos content. These include items such as drywall and/or wall plaster materials concealed behind new and/or additional walls, inner ducting insulation, heat protection material inside mechanical installations and light fixtures. There were no damaged asbestos-containing materials found in the building. 4.4 The Assessment recommends that areas planned for demolition or renovation work should undergo intrusive testing to identify suspected asbestos containing materials in concealed areas. Presumed asbestos-containing materials should be tested to determine their asbestos content. All materials confirmed to contain asbestos within the renovation or demolition work areas should be removed in accordance with Provincial regulations. ADDENDUM TO REPORT NO.: PSD-111-08 PAGE 5 5.0 ACQUISITION, RENOVATION AND FINANCIAL ISSUES 5.1 As noted in PSD-111-08, the appraised value of St. Stephen's Elementary School is $970,000. This was not identified in the Land Acquisition Strategy, nor was the need for additional public use space included as part of our corporate strategic business plan. 5.2 Any costs associated with this building are unknown until it is determined what the building will be used for. Staff from various Department's attended the site visit on November 20th and made the following observations. The building is not wheelchair accessible, has no air conditioning, and considerable costs may be involved to provide both. An elevator would be required. The boilers are thirty years old and may need to be replaced in the near future. Significant upgrades are required to the mechanical and electrical systems, as well as the ceiling, floors and wall finishes. A full-sized kitchen may need to be provided. Some or all of the asbestos products may need to be removed to make the space suitable for offices. There are four portable on site that are connected directly to the school and should be investigated for potential conditions such as mould. These could be removed to make room for extra parking spaces. The gym is small and may impact any potential revenues for community functions. There is evidence of the roof having leaked which has caused shifting in the building and some interior cracks in the flooring and ceiling. Portions of the exterior brickwork is cracked and in need of repair. The condition of the roof is uncertain. A building assessment should be completed to determine what the capital costs may be to bring the building up to code requirements depending in the intended use. 5.3 The costs of acquisition and refurbishment/redevelopment appear to be substantial. This has not been anticipated in the Municipality's capital works program and would have to be funded from new sources. Any operating cost impact has not currently been factored into preliminary 2009 budget implications. 6.0 CONCLUSION 6.1 On November 3`d, 2008 in PSD-111-08, we advised that no municipal department foresaw a need for using the St. Stephen's Elementary School for their programming. That is not to say that there isn't need for additional space for municipal programming. Rather, it is staff's view that it would be more effective to expand existing municipal facilities or build new facilities with purpose-built design rather than converting an existing structure. Using it for a new municipal purpose would require improvements for accessibility and an unknown cost of handling asbestos-containing materials. 6.2 Although staff has contacted only a few agencies, no other community organization or municipally-related organization has expressed an interest in this facility at this time or indicated that they had funds to contribute to the acquisition and renovation of the facility. In the case of the Older Adults Centre, they are reviewing their long term needs through a strategic plan and it is premature to determine how this property could fit into their plans. ADDENDUM TO REPORT NO.: PSD-111-08 PAGE 6 6.3 The Municipality has no identified source of funding for the acquisition and renovation. The municipal acquisition reserve is being committed to priorities previously identified. Capital funding for municipal facilities is identified through the development charges process and no funding has been set aside for the uses discussed above. Only certain uses are eligible under the Development Charges legislation. Council would likely have to fully fund the building project through municipal reserves or the tax levy. 6.4 Staff recommend that the PVNC Catholic District School Board be advised that the Municipality has no interest in acquiring the St. Stephen's Elementary School at 80 Rhonda Boulevard. Interested parties to be advised of Council's decision: Stephen MacPhee, PVNCC, District Separate School Board Jean-Michel Komanicki, President, Visual Arts Centre Board of Directors Sally Barrie, Administrator, Clarington Home Support, Community Care Durham Angie Darlison, Executive Director, Clarington Older Adult Association