Neepawa to divest itself from Resource Centre
- Details
- Published on Friday, April 17, 2015
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner
The Town of Neepawa no longer wants to be a landlord for the Resource Centre building. Council passed a motion on Tuesday, Apr. 7, to divest itself from the ownership of the building, located at 290 Davidson Street.
The town has owned the facility since the mid鈥�90s, but has decided that it is no longer financially feasible to maintain its stake, due to increasing costs to keep the structure up to code. Around $300,000 in capital improvements are required to bring the building up to the current standard.
Councillor and Community Development Committee chair Murray Parrott noted that severing ties with the Resource Centre would serve the best interests of the Town.
鈥淭his has been something that was brought to our committee,鈥� said Parrott during the council meeting. 鈥淭own staff brought information regarding the history and viability of the building, all of which have indicated that it is not financially feasible to continue with this ownership.鈥�
Neepawa鈥檚 chief administrative officer Colleen Synchyshyn said the Town is preparing the building for sale, but noted that there are several property issues that need to be cleared up first before that process can formally begin.
鈥淎fter doing extended research, it鈥檚 been noted that there are four land titles that need to be amalgamated. One wrench in the process might be the back lane that runs east to west right beside the Resource Centre. The land title has not been registered with land titles. So that has to be sorted out and then must be registered properly,鈥� said Synchyshyn. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to be short term. It鈥檚 going to be a lengthy process. I鈥檇 suggest that the [current] tenants have no big fear [for needing to relocate] in the immediate future.鈥�
The current tenants of the Resource Centre include NACTV, Westlake Employment Skills and Services Centre, the constituency office of Agassiz MLA Stu Briese, Neepawa Area Development Corporation, the Wheatbelt Community Futures Development Corporation and Service Canada.
A specific timeline for the resolution of the land title issues and subsequent sale is currently unknown.
