Department of Community
& Development Services
Telephone (905) 468-3266
Facsimile (905) 468-0301

1593 Four Mile Creek Road
P.O. Box 100
Virgil, Ontario
L0S 1T0
Submitted on:
August 30, 2011
Report:CDS-11-072
Report To:Community & Development Advisory Committee
Subject:5 Walnut Street
Potential Acquisition of Laura Secord Public School

1. RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that:
1.1 Council direct the Town Clerk to submit a letter to the District School Board of Niagara on behalf of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake indicating Council's interest to acquire Laura Secord Public School property and its desire to enter in discussions/negotiations with the District School Board of Niagara with the goal of presenting a formal offer of purchase and sale.
1.2 Council direct staff to enter into discussions/negotiations with Willowbank School of Restoration Arts to develop a partnership agreement and undertake an appraisal for the acquisition of the Laura Secord Public School property.

2. PURPOSE / PROPOSAL
The purpose of this report is to obtain direction from Council with respect the Town providing a letter to the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) indicating an interest to acquire Laura Secord Public School property in Queenston and to partner with Willowbank School of Restoration Arts (Willowbank) in the acquisition of the school lands. The Town has until September 28, 2011 to inform the DSBN of its interest in the school property.

3. BACKGROUND
Laura Secord Public School closed in 2010 and in June 2011 the DSBN declared it surplus. On July 25, 2011 Council received a deputation and request from the Willowbank to submit a letter of interest to the DSBN with the respect to the acquisition of the school property and to partner with Willowbank with respect to the acquisition of the school building site.

4. DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS
Laura Secord Public School is an important heritage resource for the Town and was designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in March 2010. It is also an important asset to the community of Queenston and the Secondary Plan for the Village of Queenston identified policies with respect to potential redevelopment of the site. More recently a community workshop was also held with principles being endorsed by Council to provide the framework on which decisions regarding the future use of the school site should be considered.

It is also acknowledged that Willowbank is an important heritage and community resource and asset. Willowbank's educational program has been developing and growing over the years and Willowbank finds itself in need of additional classroom space in the very near future, i.e. September 2012, in order to continue to grow its program and be sustainable. Laura Secord Public School building is a natural fit for them given it's proximity to the Willowbank Estate and its functional rooms/space. Willowbank also sees an opportunity to restore the original school building as part of their educational program.

The Secondary Plan for Queenston provides the policy framework for the Town to acquire the site and retain a portion of the land for open space/park purposes. It also identified that a portion of the site has some redevelopment potential, i.e. retain some type of institutional use, senior's housing or residential use. The community of Queenston has expressed a desire for some of the land to be retained for open space/ parks use.

Subsequent to the July 25 deputation, staff had further discussions with Willowbank and confirmed their interest in acquiring the school building and a portion of the lands for their educational purposes and their desire to continue discussions jointly with the Town and the DSBN to best achieve this, i.e. partnership, conditions on which an offer may be made to the DSBN, financial commitment, etc. (See Appendix A.) It is beneficial for Willowbank to acquire the school building through the Town and at the same time it is beneficial for the Town to work together with Willowbank to acquire the lands as they may be able to assist with acquisition costs.

Staff have also had discussions with the DSBN lawyer who has confirmed at this time a letter from Town expressing an interest prior to September 26, 2011 is required to initiate discussions provided no other public agency provides a similar letter of interest or offer. The DSBN lawyer has acknowledged that they will want discussions to commence shortly after September 28, 2011 with respect to establishing the fair market value of the lands and terms and conditions of the sale of the lands. According to Provincial regulations, the DSBN is obligated to sell the lands for fair market value. The DSBN is also interested in finding a creative means to work with the Town and Willowbank to achieve a reuse of their property that benefits the community.

5. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The immediate financial implications for the Town relate to costs associated with obtaining a appraisal to establish the fair market value of the school property.

Further discussions are required with Willowbank to confirm partnership and financial commitments of Willowbank prior to staff being in a position to inform Council of the final costs to acquire the school property and the Town's financial obligations.

6. COMMUNICATIONS
The next step is for the Town Clerk to correspond to the DSBN with respect to Council's interest to acquire the Laura Secord Public School site. Shortly thereafter, if no other proposals are received by the DSBN for this site, the DSBN will want to meet with the Town officials to discuss logistics and timing for presentation of a formal offer and potential closing dates.

In anticipation of being the only infested party who wishes to acquire Laura Secord Public School property, further discussions with Willowbank should also occur to finalize partnership terms and confirm the amount of land that Willowbank feels is appropriate for their future needs and their potential financial commitments.

7. CONCLUSION
Laura Secord Public School is an important heritage resource to the Town and has been a valuable asset to the community of Queenston. The Secondary Plan for Queenston and the community workshop with respect to potential reuse of the lands identified principles and a guiding framework for decisions to be made on the future uses of the site. In addition, Willowbank is also an asset to the Village of Queenston and partnering with Willowbank with respect to the acquisition of school property can lead to a "win/win/win/win" for the Town, Willowbank and the residents and businesses community of the Village of Queenston and the DSBN.



Respectfully submitted,



Barbara Wiens, MCIP, RPP
Principal Planner



Will Walker
Director of Community & Development Services (I)



Mike Galloway
Chief Administrative Officer


ATTACHMENTS
PDS-11-072.Appendix A.pdfPDS-11-072.Appendix A.pdf


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