St. Marys council approves master plan for 14 Church St. N

Town to seek out government grants to help pay for estimated $4-million capital cost

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

St. Marys council has put its stamp of approval on a master plan that will see the town spend an estimated $4.06 million to renovate the former Mercury Theatre building at 14 Church St. N into what staff are calling a multi-generational community hub.

During a marathon council and committee of whole meeting Aug. 26, councillors had the opportunity to tour the building and hear from staff and consultants about how the building would be used, what it would look like when finished, how much construction would cost and what it would cost to operate the building annually. Following nearly two-and-a-half hours of presentations, councillors voted to approve the master plan without any changes or additions and gave staff the green light to begin packaging the project up so it can be presented to senior levels of government for potential grant funding.

“The community has changed a lot, even in the last 11 years since I’ve been here, and the reality is the demand and numbers (for our programming) … sometimes they’re double and triple (what they were),” Mayor Al Strathdee said. “What I hear – one of the outstanding things about this community – is that we’re innovative and we’re offering programs and trying to build a sense of community.

“So, yes this is expensive. Everything’s expensive, but the reality is I think it would check a lot of boxes (for) people that are squeezed into other spaces or are unable to be more creative. … Take a walk to the (Pyramid Recreation Centre) or take a walk through the library during the summertime when the kids are off and the kids programming is on. There’s lots of things we could do better at by having this space. … We bought the building with the idea we’re committed to the downtown economic growth, diversity, maintaining our heritage. … I think we have a real opportunity to make a very reasonable investment for the future that I think people can look back and say, ‘Man, that was smart because that’s right in your backyard and look at all the creative things that have come as a result of this.”

As was first presented to the community and visitors during Doors Open St. Marys on Aug. 9 and later reported in this newspaper, the designs for the interior of 14 Church St. N are meant to provide flexible spaces for programming across multiple town departments, for use by many different community groups and local businesses, and for the enjoyment of people across the age spectrum, whether they’re booking an office or meeting room, or just dropping in to hang out and connect with the community.

According to the designs, the building’s ground floor has been imagined as a welcoming community space where residents can congregate and participate in programming. In the designs, the space includes a lobby and reception area, a computer nook, a St. Marys Public Library Maker’s Space, two sound studios available for use by the community, a large multipurpose room for meetings and events, storage space, and several washrooms.

On the second floor, the building design includes a lobby, several small office/study spaces, an office and large meeting room/classroom for adult-learning programs, another large multi-purpose room that can be divided into smaller spaces, storage space, and two washrooms. The office/study spaces will likely be transitioned into offices for town staff at some point in the future when space for additional staff is needed.

In the plans for the building’s basement, there is even more storage space, room for mechanical equipment and another washroom.

“People just felt inspired, and I think that’s what you want in your community,” said downtown service location review consultant Angela Brayham, referring to how the building’s designs were received by the more than 300 people who toured the building during the Doors Open event. “You want the community to feel inspired and uplifted and that this is a place where they can come together.

“ … If the space was to open tomorrow, you would have a really active, engaged, animated community space that both the municipal staff and programs would use, but also one that the community would embrace and welcome. We’ve got a lot of flexible, exciting spaces for people to use in multiple ways, and I think that’s what this project does; it is a project that inspires your community.”

To date, the Town of St. Marys has spent a little more than $1 million to purchase and renovate the former Mercury Theatre building to where it is today. To bring it to where it needs to be to realize the vision that has been developed by staff, consultants and the town’s downtown service location review committee, an additional estimated $4,060,360 is required.

That cost, which is an early yet “safe” estimate according to CAO Brent Kittmer, includes just over $2 million in interior renovations, roughly $830,000 in exterior and structural work – an eventual roof replacement and the installation of windows and a proper stormwater outlet – roughly $800,000 for furnishings and audio-visual equipment, and a $370,000 contingency in case of any unforeseen expenses.

According to Kittmer, if council had wanted to proceed with the project immediately, there is just over $1 million earmarked for the building in the town’s development charges reserve and the remainder of the cost could be covered through long-term debt with annual-debt servicing costs of $150,000.

On the operating side, based on the assumption the building would be open to the public from Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with program space staffed by the existing employees who run those programs and the addition of one new full-time employee and several part-time employees to run the reception desk during operating hours, Kittmer estimated the annual operating cost to be just over $360,000.

That cost, he told councillors, would represent an increase by roughly two per cent to the town’s annual property tax levy.

“I’m actually shocked … at our capital costs,” Coun. Dave Lucas said. “Being in the business, I feel I’m comfortable with that. I think the project is awesome. Clearly there’s a use for it at staff level. I’m excited for the project; I guess I just come back to the fact that two per-cent annual increase, if that’s what it’s going to affect our tax base, that’s a hard pill for me to swallow as a taxpayer in this town. … When you bring it down to that level, it is a struggle. I want to be forward-thinking, and I don’t want to get blinded by the numbers, but at the end of the day, we’re responsible to the taxpayer and we need to explain to them why we can justify a two per-cent increase outside of every other increase.

“ … So, I’m in support of it based on the idea and I think the money makes sense. I just … think we really need to reach out to different levels of government and see what’s available, and say, ‘This is what we’ve got on the table, our community needs it, we have community support. Help us out.’ ”

While Kittmer said there aren’t any existing government funding programs aimed at support community hub projects like this one, in the past, governments have been forthcoming with funding for projects like this. He added he is confident a project with the kind of support this one has from staff and the community, if put in the right hands, could secure funding from the provincial and/or federal government.