BWG Council has approved funding from the Downtown Community Improvement Program (DCIP) grant for upgrades to be made to the medical building at 80 Holland St. East.
In Tuesday night's meeting of council, councillors received an application from Amir Zeinaly, seeking a total of $54,125 to upgrade the interior of the office building with modernized waiting and exam rooms. The renovations include new electrical, lighting, drywall, painting, plumbing, HVAC, flooring and doorways.
The office is a two-storey building and located in the downtown CIP area making it eligible for the town grant.
Zeinaly has applied for a $50,000 grant under the grant's Program 2, which offers a maximum amount of $50,000, with the first $25,000 a grant and the remainder an interest-free, repayable loan.
The applicant has submitted estimates for a total of $107,000, which makes it eligible to receive $50,000.
The applicant has also applied under Program 3, a 75 per cent grant that offers a maximum amount of $20,000. The applicant has submitted fees and permits in the amount of $7,265 and is eligible for $4,125.
The applicant's total eligibility is $54,125, of which $25,000 is a loan.
The CIP was developed and approved in 2016 as a way to revitalize and modernize the downtown core, while improving the quality of life in BWG. The program went on hiatus in February 2020, pending a review of eligibility criteria, but picked up again in December 2020, with modifications to DC grants part of the program.
Deputy Mayor James Leduc supported the application.
"Anytime we can improve an office space and make it much more healthier..it's a good thing for us, especially going through the pandemic," he said.
Coun. Peter Dykie also supported the application and thanked town staff members Michael Disano and Michael Kemp for their work with the applicants and on the program.
Coun. Mark Contois didn't have any issues with the application but wondered if the applicant should have an elevator installed for accessibility, noting other CIP applications are made to be put up to accessibility code and standards.
Kemp said the applicant is not required to have an elevator installed as the upgrades are considered a renovation, which does not apply, although it was considered. He noted there were a few quotes obtained for an elevator which would cost around $70,000 + installation, for a total of around $125K.
"It's still under consideration....but at that cost, and the amount that he could offset through the CIP it just didn't make sense for him (the applicant), unfortunately," said Kemp.
Coun. Jonathan Scott supported the application but wanted more information on the work being done to the building, at the expense of the taxpayers, noting that the application was vague in terms of work description.
"I am not saying no, but I think I would want to defer this with a better understanding of how we are spending taxpayers' money," he said.
He put forward a motion to defer the decision.
Kemp confirmed he and staff vet each application to ensure they fit with all eligibility criteria in the program.
"I am more than happy to send more information but the crunching of the work has been done on the evaluation level," he assured.
Coun. Gary Lamb supported Scott's proposed deferral.
But the rest of council argued the applicant followed the rules of the program and met the criteria currently outlined.
"I can support it and the reason I can support it is because it (the application) was all followed directly," said Ferragine, adding that the reason the CIP was created in the first place was to make the downtown more aesthetically pleasing to draw in business.
Ferragine did suggest the DCIP criteria needed to be tweaked though, but later this year when it is up for review.
Leduc said coming out of the pandemic, upgrading the medical building is important and that the business did follow the guidelines.
"It's upgrades, he (the applicant) is making the building better by making it safer," he said. "We want to help people make things better...it's up to us now to approve it."
Scott argued that of the eight objectives of the DCIP, it only fit one.
"I just don't see it as a complete application when it's only the second floor (being upgraded)," he said.
Scott's motion to defer was defeated in a tie vote and council voted in favour to approve the application.
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