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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPUB-012-24 Staff Report If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131. Report To: Special General Government Committee Date of Meeting: September 16, 2024 Report Number: PUB-012-24 Authored by: Sylvia Jennings, Planner II, Planning and Infrastructure Services Submitted By: Lee-Ann Reck, Deputy CAO, Public Services Reviewed By: Mary-Anne Dempster, CAO By-law Number: Resolution Number: File Number: Report Subject: Camp 30 Cafeteria Building and Jury Lands Foundation Grant Application Recommendation: 1. That Report PUB-012-24, and any related delegations or communication items, be received for information. 2. That Council endorse, in principle, the Jury Lands Foundation’s Legacy Grant application and direct Jury Lands Foundation to provide the completed Legacy Fund application for review for the September 23 Council meeting. 3. That the Deputy CAO/Solicitor is authorized to execute a ten-year lease with the Jury Lands Foundation for the portion of the Camp 30 property owned by the Municipality, with the form and content substantially in accordance with the draft document provided to the Jury Lands Foundation on August 16, 2024. 4. That Council consider the financial investment required to stabilize the cafeteria building as part of future plans for the Jury Lands; and any decision be deferred to October 28, 2024, Council Meeting, alongside the Parks, Recreation, and Culture Master Plan (PRCMP). 5. That all interested parties listed in Report PUB-012-24, and any delegations, be advised of Council’s decision. Municipality of Clarington Page 2 Report PUB-012-24 Report Overview This report provides an update on the cafeteria building on the Camp 30 site that was transferred into Municipal ownership in December 2021. This report describes the work being done by Municipal Staff and the Jury Lands Foundation to determine a future vision for this property. It outlines the current progress on the Stabilization Plan and fundraising efforts that would be required to support the future revitalization. Also outlined are requests from the Jury Lands Foundations that would allow them to be eligible for various grants at the federal and provincial level, including a ten-year lease. 1. Background 1.1 The Camp 30 site, also known as the Jury Lands, at 2020 Lambs Rd is recognized as a nationally, provincially and locally significant architectural and historical site. It contains six historically designated buildings surrounding a ring road. A detailed overview of the site’s heritage designation and significance is available in Staff Report PDS-052-23. 1.2 The Jury Lands Foundation (JLF) was formed in 2013 after Camp 30 was designated a national historic site. It is a charitable non-profit whose mandate is to rejuvenate the site and support its adaptive reuse. A Memorandum of Understanding was established between the Municipality and JLF in 2017 that outlined each parties’ respective responsibilities. 1.3 The Camp 30 site and surrounding lands are designated Special Policy Area F in the Clarington Official Plan. In 2021, Council adopted Official Plan Amendment 121 which created a Block Master Plan for the area (See Figure 1; Staff Report PDS-044-21). This established a proposed long-term vision for the heritage buildings and a land use plan for development on the surrounding lands. The plan was created in collaboration with the landowners and was based on the understanding that lands containing five of the six heritage buildings would be transferred to the Municipality to create a Munic ipal Wide Park. Municipality of Clarington Page 3 Report PUB-012-24 Figure 1: Block Master Plan for Special Policy Area F 1.4 In December 2021, the Municipality of Clarington took possession of the cafeteria building and two acres of surrounding lands (Figure 2). The remainder of the site Municipality of Clarington Page 4 Report PUB-012-24 continues to be owned by Lambs Road School Property Ltd. In 2022. The Municipality undertook an initial structural assessment of the building. It was found that the building showed severe deterioration, and emergency stabilization was required. Figure 2: Map of Clarington-owned parcel (in red) with the cafeteria building 1.5 In the 2023 Budget, Council approved $300,000 in funding to mothball the building, securing the building from vandalism to prevent further deterioration while the JLF raised funds to support the long-term revitalization of the building. This funding was also to be used for security measures and ongoing maintenance . Municipality of Clarington Page 5 Report PUB-012-24 2. Cafeteria Revitalization Plan 2.1 The Municipality has retained GBCA Architects to create a stabilization and revitalization plan for the cafeteria building. Their recommended approach to the building includes five phases: i. Hazardous Substances Report ii. Security and Emergency Measures and Stabilization Plan iii. Undertake Stabilization Work iv. Determine Final Use of the Building v. Design and Conservation Plan 2.2 Phase 1, preparing a hazard substance report was completed in Winter 2024. Extensive amounts of asbestos were found throughout the building, and some instances of paint that contains lead and mercury. See Attachment 1 to this report. Abatement for these substances will be contemplated during stabilization work. A preliminary estimate of the cost of abatement is $250,000. As staff will be required to maintain the property, including mechanical systems, full abatement is recommended. 2.3 Phase 2 is currently underway. GBCA has completed a Building Condition Assessment. As of the time this report is written, they are in the process of developing the stabilization plan. 2.4 As part of Phase 2, GBCA completed two site visits, including one by a structural engineer. Drone footage was taken for analysis of the roof. Based on the Phase 2 work so far, the major undertakings in the Phase 3 Stabilization Work will be site clean up, hazardous substance abatement, temporary shoring, roof repairs and temporary roof installation, and structural repairs. This work would result in a structure that is stable for approximately 5 years. 2.5 Based on the Phase 2 work, GBCA and the structural engineer have prepared a preliminary opinion of cost for the stabilization work. The estimated cost excluding soft costs and contingencies is $2,235,000. It’s recommended that an additional 10% be included for soft costs and 40% be included as a contingency. This would bring the estimated cost to $3,352,500. The largest cost is related to repairing the roof and installing a temporary 5-year roof membrane that would prevent water from further damaging the structure. It is of note that stabilization does not bring the building into a useable state. 2.6 It is important to note that this estimate is preliminary. The work required to repair the roof cannot be fully understood until the work commences and each portion can be assessed. Municipality of Clarington Page 6 Report PUB-012-24 2.7 Phase 4 work is primarily being led by the JLF with the assistance of their consultant, Cobalt Connects. It includes consultation on the final use of the building and developing an operational plan. JLF has hosted open houses and surveyed community organizations that may be interested in partnering with JLF. JLF has drafted an Operational Plan for 2025 with the goal of engaging the community and creating awareness of the project. They have worked with Clarington Staff and the landowner for the remainder of the Camp 30 site to plan for community events that would be held over the next year. 2.8 Phase 5 will be undertaken after consultation and a final use for the building has been determined through Phase 4. It will result in a conservation plan to restore the heritage features of the building and final architectural plans that will be ready to be used once funding for a complete restoration of the building have been raised. In addition to the Revitalization Plan, Community Services has been maintaining and enhancing security at the site. This includes installing and maintaining fencing around the building and boarding up all entryways. Despite these measures, vandalism and trespassing is an ongoing concern and occurs weekly. Staff are regularly repairing the fence and replacing boards as they’re damaged from trespassers. Staff spent approximately 156 hours (minimum 3 hours per week) over the past year and approximately $44,000 in securing the building. There is no capital or operating budget currently in place for the cafeteria building and associate d grounds. 3. Federal Legacy Fund 3.1 At the June 17, 2024, Planning and Development Committee Meeting, JLF and Cobalt Connects presented to Council regarding the Legacy Fund, a large grant opportunity from the federal government. The Legacy Fund supports projects that restore or renovate historic buildings for community use. The Legacy Fund is available only for projects that are celebrating a significant anniversary. It was determined that the cafeteria building was erected in 1924, meaning the project is eligib le for funding only this year. The grant can fund up to $500,000. 3.2 In response to the request, Council adopted the following motion: “That the Delegation by Marilyn Morawetz, Chair, Jury Lands Foundation, and Jeremy Freiburger, Lead Consultant, Cobalt Connects, regarding Jury Lands Cafeteria Update, be received; That the Jury Lands Foundation request for $500,000 in provisional funding be approved; Municipality of Clarington Page 7 Report PUB-012-24 That Staff work with the Jury Lands Foundation to ratify a Capital Facilities Partnership Agreement in advance of the Legacy Grant Funding Agreement deadline; and That the Jury Lands Foundation, submit the application to Council, prior to submitting to the Federal Government for the Legacy Grant Funding.” 3.3 Staff have since been working with the JLF to meet the requirements for the grant. Requirements for the grant include:  Cost estimates for capital projects that the funding would be used for;  An event commemorating the anniversary of the building must be held ; and  A letter of support from the municipal administration that includes: o Endorsement over all others in your community of the capital project to commemorate this anniversary. o The monetary value of the cash and/or in-kind support to this project, presented separately. o Documentation of ownership or long-term facility lease (minimum ten years) or operational agreements between the organization and the facility owner; and o 10-year management plan for the property. 3.4 The JLF has indicated that if they are successful, the focus of the grant will be to get the funds required to make the site and building to be a publicly accessible site. Most of the funding would be used to support the Phase 3 Stabilization work on the cafeteria building, as outlined in Section 3. Some funds would go towards operating expenditures, including funding events that activate the site, future studies or assessments, and fundraising efforts. A full breakdown of how the funding will be used is available in the Legacy Fund Application which will be submitted to Council on September 23 at the Council Meeting for review. 3.5 Staff have been working with GBCA and the JLF to advance the stabilization plan . The stabilization plan has informed the cost estimates used in the application. The plans created in Phase 2 would be crucial to carry out the work that is detailed in the Legacy Fund application. 3.6 Staff have also been working with the JLF to create a 10-year lease agreement to support the grant application. Further details are available in Section 5. Municipality of Clarington Page 8 Report PUB-012-24 4. Other Grant Opportunities 4.1 In addition to the Legacy Fund, the JLF is applying to other grants at the provincial and federal level. 4.2 In Spring 2024, the JLF applied for the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Capital Grant. The intention for this grant was to acquire supplies that would enable them to host events on site. The application was not successful, and the team was informed that a major issue was the lack of clarity on the relationship between the Municipality and the JLF. This prompted the JLF’s request to create a Capital Facilities Partne rship Agreement at the June PDC meeting. 4.3 Staff have identified at this time that a 10-year lease agreement will satisfy the Legacy Fund application, and grant opportunities in the future. As JLF continue to refine their operating model, staff will work towards a Capital Facilities Agreement that would replace the currently proposed lease. This will provide staff time to work with JFL to agree on service levels, for staff to identify costs and resources required to deliver on the service levels and for JFL to clearly identify their operating plans. 4.4 JLF has applied to the OTF Seed Grant in Summer 2024 and is expecting results of the application in Fall 2024. Funding was applied for to support programming at the site, as described in the JLF’s presentation in June. This includes costs to host events throughout 2025 including health and safety supplies, rented washrooms, administration costs, health and safety supplies, and developing materials for the capital campaign. 4.5 In early 2025 it’s expected that the OTF Capital Grant will be open for applications again. The JLF will re-apply and is hopeful that with the current lease in place, they will successfully be awarded funds to support capital improvements to the cafeteria building. 4.6 The JLF is monitoring for additional grants and will apply to them as they open. The next major applicable grant that is expected to open is the National Cost -Sharing Program for Heritage Places. The program is run through Parks Canada and provides 50-50 cost sharing for work on heritage buildings. The Jury Lands Foundation will require a lease or related agreement with the Municipality to be an eligible applicant, which will have been satisfied through the work on the Legacy Fund. 5. Lease Agreement with Jury Lands Foundation 5.1 As mentioned in section 4 above, Staff have been working with the JLF to provide the support needed to fulfil the eligibility requirements of Legacy Fund grant application. Municipality of Clarington Page 9 Report PUB-012-24 5.2 One of these requirements is that the JLF must show documentation of ownership or long-term facility lease (minimum ten years) or operational agreements between the organization and the facility owner. 5.3 Given the condensed timeframe for submission of the gran t application, and in consultation with the JLF, it was determined that a ten-year lease would be the most expeditious way to fulfil this requirement. 5.4 A draft lease was provided to the JLF for review on August 16. At the time of writing, Staff are continuing to negotiate some minor revisions. Some larger issues have been raised by the JLF in connection with the lease such as the construction of a new driveway access, and a deadline for the Municipality to commit to arrangements for the future operation of a fully renovated building. However, these issues are outside the scope of the draft lease. 5.5 It is assumed that the JLF will complete its review of the draft lease in time for the GGC meeting on September 16, and that they will agree to the suggested terms a nd conditions. Based on that assumption, this Report recommends that Council authorize the Deputy CAO/Solicitor to finalize the lease agreement with the form and content substantially in accordance with the draft document provided to the JLF on August 16. 5.6 If the JLF requests changes to the draft lease provided on August 16, it is recommended that Council would need a further opportunity to consider the implications of any revisions before the document is signed. 6. Future Capital Improvement Requests 6.1 In addition to the items that are required to support the JLF’s application to the Legacy Fund, JFL have outlined other future items that would support their ability to activate the site and generate interest in the project. This includes:  Accessibility improvements to the site including a culvert and driveway for smaller events using only municipal land;  Hydro at the site; and  Risk assessment and remediation of any hazards on municipal property including trees, limbing, grass cutting and line trimming, covering maintenance holes, removal of fire hydrants, weed control in paved areas to prevent trip hazards. JLF believes some of this might be accomplished through volunteers or in -kind if acceptable. 6.2 The JLF has provided a sample site plan demonstrating where they intend various features to be located. See Figure 3. Municipality of Clarington Page 10 Report PUB-012-24 Figure 3: Conceptual Site Plan created by the Jury Lands Foundation 6.3 Staff continue to liaise with JLF to assess their needs. Municipal staff currently provide maintenance on this site, including parks and forestry operations, security monitoring and continued work to maintain security measures. Other items requested by JLF, like construction of a culvert to restore an entrance to the municipally owned lands , or hydro to the site will be considered in the future once a finalized plan is in place for operation of the site. It is important to note that there currently is no operating or capital budget or allocation of staff resources to animate this site fully and would need to be considered as part of the development of a Capital Facilities Agreement. 7. Financial Considerations Requirement to Meet Federal Grant Application 7.1 The financial contribution to match the Federal grant of $500,000 may include funds that have already been approved but not spent. In 2023, funds were allocated to repairs and maintenance of Camp 30, at September 5, 2024 approximately $255,900 remains Municipality of Clarington Page 11 Report PUB-012-24 unspent. The 2025 budget will include $245,100, contingent on the receipt of the grant from the Federal Government. Additional Requirement for Stabilizing the Cafeteria Building 7.2 To stabilize the building an additional $4.0 million is estimated to be required. This work would not be development charge eligible as there is no growth -related component. Therefore, the funding would need to come from grants or tax support. 7.3 The Municipality’s reserve funds have been identified to be used for other capital projects and therefore are insufficient to meet this additional funding requirement without impacting other prioritized projects. 7.4 If the Municipality received the estimated $4.0 million from the Building Faster Fund for the 2023 housing numbers, or a future year’s allocation, those funds would be directed to the Parks Reserve Fund as per Council’s previous direction. The Parks Reserve Fund is one source of funding for the implementation of Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan and utilizing that reserve fund for Camp 30 would take the funds away from other identified priorities. 7.5 An alternative to reserve fund usage would be to debenture the funds. Assuming a 3.5% interest rate, for a debenture of $4.0 million in October 2025 for 10 years, the Municipality would incur $735,400 in interest costs over the period. The total repayment in the first year (2026) of $536,500 would have to be funded by tax levy with an impact of approximately 0.70%. While a 10-year debenture was assumed, the above- mentioned roof work has a useful life of five years; therefore, external debentures may not be available and internal borrowing would be necessary. It is still appropriate to consider the incremental cost of cash-flowing this work. 7.6 Use of debentures does spread the cost throughout the period; however, it utilizes debt capacity that could otherwise be used for growth capital projects and asset management obligations for assets that are currently providing services, such as park replacements. 7.7 Debentures historically have been used in Clarington to fund growth projects such as new recreation facilities or expansions, the use of debt allocates the cost to the beneficiaries of the service (those using the asset pay for it). At this point, the debenture would be used to mitigate the further decline of the building rather than outfit it for future service delivery. 7.8 The financial requirements to bring the building into active service delivery, and the type of service that would be provided are currently unknown. The potential future costs to refit the building would be examined in a future report when more information is available. Municipality of Clarington Page 12 Report PUB-012-24 8. Strategic Plan 8.1 In the 2024-2027 Strategic Plan, priority G.3.1 is “Determine the future of the historic Camp 30 cafeteria building.” 9. Concurrence 9.1 This report has been reviewed by the Deputy CAO of Planning and Infrastructure, Deputy CAO/Treasurer of Finance and Technology, Deputy CAO/Solicitor of Legislative Services and the Director of Strategic Initiatives who concur with the recommendation. 10. Conclusion 10.1 The JLF is in the process of applying to the Federal Legacy Grant. If successful, this funding would be used to carry out the stabilization plan. The JLF has requested endorsement of the application in principle with a full review available at the September 23 Council meeting and requires a minimum 10-year lease with the Municipality to be grant eligible. It is recommended that the Municipality enter into this lease so that JLF is able to submit a suitable application to the Legacy Fund. Once the building is stabilized, the long-term plan for the revitalization and working towards a Capital Facilities Agreement for the site can be determined. Staff Contact: Lee-Ann Reck, Deputy CAO Public Services, lreck@clarington.net Attachments: Attachment 1 – Hazardous Substances Report Interested Parties: List of Interested Parties available from Department. Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24DESIGNATED HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES INSPECTION FORMER WWII POW CAMP 30 CENTRAL CAFETERIA BUILDING 2020 LAMBS ROAD BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO FOR MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON BY MARCH2024 Distribution: 1 cc Client 1 cc AiMS Report AR107-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24 Attachment 1 to Report PUB-012-24