Le Centre culturel La Ronde is asking the city for a break on building-related fees as it moves closer to constructing a new facility.
Executive director Lisa Bertrand recently wrote a letter to the City of Timmins asking for the $106,000 building permit, $6,000 sidewalk permit, $5,000 in tipping fees and an unknown amount for encroachment fees to be waived. The total cost of the request is at least $117,000.
The letter was included on the June 15 Timmins council agenda. It will be back at the next council meeting.
Coun. Michelle Boileau requested the upcoming resolution to allow council members to talk about waiving all or some of the building-related fees for the construction.
For Coun. Joe Campbell, however, the discussion is about policy.
"If you’re going to change it for one individual then you should be prepared when others come to council looking for a waiving of their development and building fees. This is a more complex issue than straightforward of yes or no by council,” he said, noting there are other people who have made requests and were turned down.
When the former building was demolished in 2017, Campbell noted the city waived tipping fees. The value of waiving those tipping fees was $135,000, although staff at the time expected the cost could exceed $200,000.
In 2015, a fire ravaged La Ronde's building at the corner of Mountjoy Street and Algonquin Boulevard. The French cultural centre has been operating out of a temporary space on Kent Avenue. The space doesn't allow the organization to develop its cultural activities to full capacity, according to Bertrand's letter.
La Ronde is planning to construct a new building on the site of its former facility at the corner of Mountjoy and Algonquin Boulevard.
"We have had many challenges since COVID-19 started and this pandemic delayed the construction of our new centre and for this reason, the cost of the materials for building has gone up considerably; therefore, we need to have more funds. We have had campaign(s) to raise money, unfortunately, because of the delay we have reached the set amount to begin the construction," wrote Bertrand in the letter.
The group has been fundraising for a new facility and recently launched a Catch the Ace fundraiser.
Before the pandemic, the goal of the campaign was to raise $6.5 million.
The federal government recently announced $2.5 million for the project. Between now and 2024, the federal government will be also providing $265,000 in funding for the centre's programming and services. Out of this funding, $216,000 will be allocated through the Development of Official Language Communities program and $48,400 through the Canada Arts Presentation Fund.
