Rotary Club of Powell River has been selected as the new tenant for the former scout hall at Timberlane Avenue.
At the September 14 City of Powell River Council meeting, deputy corporate officer Jessica Lefort reported on the extensive selection process for five organizations, which included Rotary, the Alano Club, Junior Forest Wardens, Powell River Educational Services Society and qathet Skateboard Society.
Lefort said as per council’s direction, a more measurable approach was taken to selecting the tenants. She said a decision matrix was designed.
Staff usually has delegated authority to make lease agreements, but since there were multiple applications for the one lease space, and without established policy or criteria to weigh each application, staff brought the matter forward for council direction, according to Lefort.
“It was determined that the Rotary Club of Powell River was the most suitable applicant,” she added.
City councillor Rob Southcott said he had discussion with a representative of an organization that was also hoping to lease the facility. He said it was thought that if Rotary was to get the contract, they would be able to share it. He asked if Rotary had any intention of renting out the facility to make money, or would it be just to cover costs.
“Was there any conversation about that?” asked Southcott. “Is that part of the lease?”
Lefort said there was a conversation about sharing, but with the departure of former director of properties, development and communications Scott Randolph, who looked after leases, the city is still trying to figure out how to deal with his former responsibilities.
“For now, we are determining who is getting the lease and then we are determining the development of a lease agreement,” said Lefort. “The finance department is looking after that but I’m not sure where that plan is at this point.”
Councillor Cindy Elliott said she really liked the matrix that was used to determine the new leaseholder. She said one of the criteria in the matrix says: applicant intention to maximize use of the space by showing flexibility to loan it to other groups when otherwise not in use.
“The indication is it is not a profit-making venture,” said Elliott. “The matrix assumes that it is a loaner, so I’m hoping we ask the question in that way in order to get the answer.”
Elliott said the matrix was a good start toward developing a policy and she would like to see how it plays out with other application processes.
Councillor George Doubt said he went through the matrix.
“It is very important to have language in the lease that makes sure that whoever the leaseholder is, they do not use the property to make income from other nonprofit organizations,” said Doubt. “This is basically a below-cost lease that the city is allowing people to use. I want to make sure there is language in the lease that the leaseholder cannot sublease the space to make money.”
Interim chief administrative officer Chris Jackson said the stipulation will be part of the lease.
“We are aware of another situation where that has occurred and it is not an appropriate thing to sublease and make money for the organization when the taxpayers are subsidizing the premises,” said Jackson.
Councillor Trina Isakson said the proponents didn’t know the composition of the matrix in advance, so had it been available, some people might have shifted their applications or made different plans or proposals.
“It’s unfortunate, but the spirit of the Rotary club application, in that a large part of the intention is to provide space to other community groups, is why I support the recommendation,” said Isakson.
Lefort said information from the matrix was distributed to the applicants so the city could score the input based on the criteria.
Council voted unanimously that the Rotary Club of Powell River be selected as the leaseholder for the Timberlane building, and that staff be directed to include the decision matrix as a future policy amendment.
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