Final Financing of Community Centre

www.infrastructureontario.ca

As you know, it’s a very exciting time in Pelham since we are only a few months away from completing the construction of the new Meridian Community Centre.

Thanks to the excellent work and oversight of Ball Construction, the significant efforts of the many trades (many of which are local), the work of Town Staff, and the members of the Oversight Committee, we expect the MCC to be substantially complete before the end of June!

And while Staff work through the summer to fine-tune operations and prepare for full-service and a grand opening in the Fall, we look forward to hosting the Greg Campbell Memorial Paperweight Lacrosse Tournament – the largest in Ontario – in July.

And, as I wrote about last week, because of the generosity of the community, we have already reached a milestone of 90% of our original fundraising goal.

Now, this week, another element of the financing for the Community Centre should be finalized.

As you will recall, the approved financial plan called for funding to come from a variety of sources: about a quarter directly from our residents to service a debt through municipal taxes; and about a third from new development through Development Charges. Additional financing consisted of a construction bridge loan from Infrastructure Ontario (I/O) in order to help with the transition of selling the Town’s surplus land (valued at $12 million) and receiving $3 million in community donations.

As the Provincially-legislated process required, Pelham applied for this funding in the Spring of 2016. Since the Town met the qualifying criteria for the loan, the Region did its part as a facilitator by forwarding the paperwork to I/O in June 2016. As also required by the process, a binding Financing Agreement was formally signed that September for $36.2 million for the new Community Centre.

Again, as required by Provincial legislation and as contractually obligated, the Region assisted the Town’s debentures of $9.1 million in 2016 (the part of the financing directly funded through municipal taxes) and $12.1 million in 2017 (the part funded by future growth).

The standard process for the remaining portion of the loan was for the Town to notify I/O that the funds were required and they would release the funds directly to the Town without the Niagara Region approval; this was because it had already been approved in the Financing Agreement between the Town, I/O and the Niagara Region.

The standard process was interrupted by the Niagara Region on November 16, 2017. That’s when Regional Council sent I/O a motion that stated that the Region would defer future Pelham financing until they received additional information from the Town. This additional information was subsequently included in the KPMG Forensic Investigation report that is posted on the Town’s website and reviewed at the Region’s Audit Committee in January, 2018.

After I/O received this motion, they reconfirmed that the Town complies with all their qualifying criteria as under the Agreement. Then I/O asked the Regional Treasurer and Chair to sign an Acknowledgement Letter that confirms that the Niagara Region will still meet the obligations in the Financing Agreement. This Thursday, the Niagara Region is going one step further by requesting Council approval before signing this Acknowledgement.

Since the Town meets Infrastructure Ontario’s criteria, one would hope that Regional Council would live up to the obligations in the Agreement by signing the Acknowledgement Letter so that we can complete the Meridian Community Centre on-time and on-budget for the benefit of our entire community.


You may contact Mayor Dave at mayordave@pelham.ca or read past columns at www.pelhammayordave.blogspot.ca.

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UPDATE: 2018 March 22

I am pleased that this financing issue was resolved before the Regional Council meeting on Thursday.

After Infrastructure Ontario confirmed that the Town continued to meet the original criteria for the financing, the Region was legally obligated to the original agreement.

Please see the media coverage by clicking here: https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/8346233-regional-council-battle-over-pelham-s-finances-fizzles/

Unparalleled Contribution by Meridian!

Thanks to a $1 million contribution from Meridian Credit Union, Pelham’s new and beautiful Community Centre will be named the “Meridian Community Centre.”

Last Thursday, significant donors and Council gathered to make this announcement and to celebrate Meridian’s commitment to our community.

Even though they have grown to the largest credit union in the Province and the fourth largest in Canada, Meridian remains committed to its founding vision of helping the communities in which they operate.

They are a generous partner in so many community initiatives in Pelham and across the Niagara Peninsula. From supporting the Pelham Summerfest, to the Rankin Run, to naming other facilities, Meridian embodies their vision of supporting communities. They “walk the talk” by investing 4% of their pre-tax profits into donations and sponsorships to make our communities even stronger and more vibrant.

With the strong foundation of the Fonthill District Credit Union, then the Pelham Credit Union, then Niagara Credit Union, the Meridian Credit Union name represents a very long history in Pelham. That foundation includes community members coming together and working together for others and for the common good.

Wade Stayzer, Meridian Senior Vice-President and former Fonthill Branch Manager, explained the rational for their gift: “As a organization, we’re committed to building strong communities and this is a great example of that.” Further, he said that the new facility satisfied all three criteria Meridian uses in selecting recipients – a benefit to its members, to its employees and to its community. Referencing the range of activities that will occur in the facility, he added that “the Meridian Community Centre will be a place filled with moments that matter.”

This contribution stands unparalleled in our Town’s history. We are so grateful to Meridian Credit Union and all its members for demonstrating this incredible support.

As part of the acknowledgement of this generous contribution, Pelham Town Council will designate the street immediately north of the community centre as “Meridian Way.”

This contribution and those of other major donors – including Lucchetta Homes, Erwin Taylor Charitable Foundation and Contour Foot Care (also announced last week) – helps the Town of Pelham reach 90% of our $3 million fundraising goal for the new centre.

On behalf of Council, I deeply appreciate the generosity of these amazing donors! Their gifts demonstrate significant support for the new facility and show that by working together we can invest in and improve our community and achieve great things.

On behalf of all our residents and businesses, we thank Meridian for your amazing investment in Pelham and in Niagara!

For more information about the Meridian Community Centre and fundraising options, please check-out the special website at www.ourmcc.ca.

You may contact Mayor Dave at mayordave@pelham.ca or read past columns at www.pelhammayordave.blogspot.ca.

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Thanks to Your TV Niagara for this great video of the announcements!

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Thanks to other media for covering the announcement:

"‘Unparalleled’ donation sees community centre named after Meridian"
NEWS Mar 08, 2018 by Laura Barton  St. Catharines Standard

"Meridian lands Pelham community centre naming rights: Donation of $1 million pushes fundraising campaign to 90 per cent of goal"
NEWS Mar 08, 2018 by Steve Henschel  Niagara This Week - Welland

Meridian Credit Union Scoops Up Naming Rights for Pelham Community Centre

Shelby Knox. Friday, March 9th 2018

Pelham Supper Market and Summerfest Recognized Provincially

Councillor Accursi and I were delighted to join Vickie, Sally, and Jodi – some of Pelham’s dedicated Recreation, Culture & Wellness Staff – at the Festivals & Events Ontario Awards Gala on Friday night in Hamilton. Not only was the F&EO gala a great event, but Festivals & Events Ontario awarded Pelham two coveted honours.

Thanks and congratulations to the dedicated volunteers and staff, generous sponsors, enthusiastic vendors, and the more than 40,000 participants at last year’s Pelham Summerfest. Festivals & Events Ontario recognized your efforts and goal to bringing the community together by recognizing Summerfest as one of Ontario’s Top 100 Festivals / Events in 2017! This is the fourth time that F&EO has recognized Pelham Summerfest’s four days of free, family fun as one of the top 100 in the Province and one of just a handful in the Niagara Peninsula. Congratulations all!

We were also pleasantly surprised and honoured the Festivals & Events Ontario awarded the Pelham Supper Market the 2018 Best Greening Festival / Event! 

You know that Pelham Supper Market is a free admission, weekly Market where local and regional residents gather to enjoy a Summer evening in the park, food and beverages from local vendors, and with live music performed by area artists. The Supper Market begins the first Thursday of June and continues each week from 4:00 PM to dusk and until the second Thursday of September. Pelham’s Supper Market is organized by the Town’s Recreation, Culture & Wellness Department along with community volunteers and is located in Peace Park in downtown Fonthill.

Staff estimate that more than 43,000 people enjoyed the Supper Market over the entire summer!

That’s why it’s amazing that the weekly event generated no garbage! The Green Zone is a recycling/ compost station which is set up near the food vendors on market evenings. The Green Zone aims to recycle/ compost all items which would instead be delivered to the landfills. Last year, the event diverted 395 kgs of recyclable material, and diverted 1419kgs of organic material! What a huge improvement from previous years where tons of waste was landfilled after each Thursday night.

Part of the event’s success comes from the incentive program to vendors who participated in the Greening part. Staff encouraged the use of compostable serving materials and recyclable containers with a “GO Green Rebate” program; 12 vendors took part and the results – zero garbage – are outstanding!

The Supper Market also encouraged 141 people to ride their bike with a special Bike Valet program. The Bike Valet aims to help encourage active transport among residents who plan on attending the Supper Market. Residents who arrive to the Supper Market via their bicycle have the opportunity to leave their bike with the Bike Valet for safe-keeping during the event. Bikes are stored in an orderly fashion and marked with an identification number to ensure they are returned to their owner. Our community is a bike friendly award recipient so its no wonder over the last four years the bike valet has watched more than 600 bikes!

Riding a bike not yet your speed? We also offered a Shuttle Service for the last four years. This initiative was created to decrease the amount of cars in the downtown and help decrease the carbon footprint. More and more residents use this service every year. Over the last four years we’ve had just over 500 riders.

We also partnered with the Region’s Public Works department for the Water Wagon initiative. In 2016, we were able to secure the wagon on a weekly basis, and were able to encourage residents to bring their refillable water bottles. In 2017 we were only able to secure the wagon once per month, but it was still a great promotion for residents to use their refillable bottles! It’s estimated that the Water Wagon filled reusable bottles with 1,200 litres of safe, fresh drinking water in 2017.

It’s gratifying and much appreciated to be honoured by Festivals & Events Ontario. Congratulations and thanks to all staff and volunteers who work so hard to make these events such a huge success!


You may contact Mayor Dave at mayordave@pelham.ca or read past columns and link to documents at www.pelhammayordave.blogspot.ca.