St. Marys council gets updated funding plan for Community Commons at 14 Church Street

CAO promises no impact on taxpayers and roughly $1 million in long-term debt to fund the project

By Galen Simmons

A long-discussed plan to transform 14 Church St. N. into a multi-use community hub initially dubbed the Community Commons took a significant step forward Feb. 10 as St. Marys council received a detailed financial analysis outlining how the project could proceed without increasing the burden on the town’s tax base.

The report, presented by CAO Brent Kittmer, builds on council’s August 2025 decision to pursue a vision for the former Mercury Theatre building as a flexible community space serving all ages and interests. As outlined in Kittmer’s report to council, the vision includes programming space for the library, Friendship Centre, museum and early learning services, as well as permanent space for adult learning, shared social-connection areas and flexible rooms for service clubs, arts groups and youth programming.

“We need programming space for social connection and we need programming space to meet our space deficits (across all departments). … We need to have space for social services and we just need to have space for people to drop in,” Kittmer said after discussing the town’s projected growth and how it can expand and diversify recreational, cultural, leisure and social programming that appeals to and is accessible to residents of all ages through the Community Commons at 14 Church Street project.

“I’ve been doing public administration for 20 years. I’ve seen a lot of projects have detractors, and you’re always going to have detractors because it’s difficult to spend public dollars and it’s difficult to spend it on community building projects like this. But this is one of the first times where I’ve seen a strategic plan, a recreation master plan, at least two other master plans, your project consultant who is a paid professional in the field for decades, your staff, your public-led committee all strongly encouraging you to move forward with this project and saying there is a need in this community for this today and we need to build it. I’ve never seen it so aligned like that … and sometimes you have to take a brave step.”

While earlier discussions on the project focused heavily on projected operating costs, the updated report shifts attention to a capital funding strategy designed specifically to limit the amount of “new” money that would need to be raised through taxation.

According to the report, total projected capital costs for interior, exterior and related improvements are estimated at approximately $3.73 million in 2025 dollars. That figure includes interior-renovation costs of roughly $2.06 million, exterior upgrades and building-envelope work totalling about $870,000, and an $800,000 allowance for furnishings, audiovisual equipment and consulting.

Rather than relying solely on debt or a tax increase, the funding plan leverages multiple sources. These include development charges, existing reserves, community fundraising and strategic borrowing.

The 2024 development charges study anticipated library expansion costs and, after adjustments, approximately $840,000 in development charges could be applied to 14 Church St. The St. Marys Public Library also holds roughly $181,000 in reserves for capital and maintenance purposes.

In addition, a dedicated 14 Church Street reserve has been established. The strategy recommends beginning annual contributions to that reserve now to offset future capital and debt-servicing costs. Staff projections indicate those contributions can be accommodated within the town’s existing long-term capital plan without requiring additional levy increases.

The report also notes that St. Marys remains in a strong financial position when it comes to debt. As detailed in the financial analysis, the town’s annual repayment limit under provincial guidelines far exceeds its current and projected debt-servicing costs. Existing debt obligations are scheduled to decline significantly through 2027 and 2028, creating flexibility to redirect retired debt payments toward new capital priorities like 14 Church St.

Community fundraising will also play a role. The St. Marys library board and its capital campaign advisory committee are preparing to formally launch the Community Commons at 14 Church Street campaign, with funds raised to be used directly to offset capital costs. As of the report date, donors including Friends of the Library, a local law firm and an anonymous local family have pledged $165,000. The advisory committee and library board have set a campaign fundraising goal of $1 million including potential grant funding. More information on the campaign and donor recognition will be presented at council’s March 10 meeting.

The report makes clear that the goal of the funding strategy is to integrate the 14 Church St. project into the town’s broader infrastructure and capital framework so no new tax-supported money needs to be levied specifically for the project.

“As of today, I’m saying it’s $1.3 million in debt,” Kittmer said. “If community fundraising goes up by several-hundred thousand dollars (beyond the $165,000 already committed) and we get a grant and the library asks us to use a portion of their reserve, we’re debting out even less of this project.

“If you told me we could do this project for $1 million or less in debt, I would be confused why we’re not doing this tomorrow. That’s my personal and professional opinion because I just watched us spend $1 million on the interior of (town hall), we spent $1.8 million on the pool; we’ve spent $1 million a lot of time, pretty easily, without a lot of thought – forgive me – because we know it is needed. And that’s what I’m saying; we intrinsically know this is needed and that’s not a lot of money. That (annual) debt repayment (of $118,555) is not a lot of money for us to assume.”

While the report also updates projected operating costs once the building is complete – estimating a reasonable range of $150,000 to $185,000 annually depending on final service levels, hours of operation, volunteer support and staff – the primary focus of the Feb. 10 presentation was the capital plan and the financial flexibility that allows council to move forward without increasing pressure on local taxpayers.

While councillors were supportive of the new financial plan, several councillors expressed concerns over how the current council can ensure this project continues moving ahead after a new council is elected in October. While Kittmer said there is no binding decision council can make to force a new council to continue down this road, getting public buy-in for the project and financial commitments from donors who support it now and in the next few months will go a long way in keeping the momentum going.

“I’m appreciating what I’m seeing here more than what I saw in August, for sure,” said Coun. Dave Lucas. “ … To go forward with this project without increasing our tax levy is significant to me. … I felt like, in August, we were basically looking at a two per-cent tax increase to our levy into perpetuity, so I would really struggle with that. But how you presented this and the numbers I’m seeing, I’m getting my head wrapped around it and I think it’s great that we need to get community support onboard with this.

“Yes, we’re always going to have detractors; maybe a different council will have a different idea. If you can create that positivity around the project in the community, there’s a better chance that new council sitting here will feel it’s a positive project. … I think we’ve definitely started in the right direction. I think we need to keep moving in that direction.”