Discussed need for capital repairs at interpretation centre (the OHT manager indicated he saw evidence of wood rot at the Interpretation Centre).
On September 4, 2018, a letter was received from the President of LADB (attached as Appendix A) regarding the status of access and use agreement (M58-2011) and future use of the DBH.
On September 26, 2018, the Chief Executive Officer of OHT emailed to express interest in revisiting the proposal sent to the City in 2016. Administration reviewed the proposal to determine what the Corporation's estimated costs would be to provide the services OHT suggested in their proposal. The City's Senior Manager of Facilities indicated that approximate costs would be $50,000 per year for the items in the OHT proposal with more discussion required to work out the details.
On March 14, 2019, the President of LADB submitted a letter requesting an update on Motion 58-2011 attached as Appendix B and a letter submitted on July 24, 2019 is attached as Appendix C.
Administration (through the Legal - Real Estate division) made a number of attempts to follow up with the OHT to discuss the long expired agreement and a possible new arrangement. A conference call took place on October 24, 2019 between the OHT and the City. During the conversation, the OHT indicated that the 2016 proposal to the City covering operating and capital maintenance expenses is still open for consideration. At this time the OHT has commented that it would expect that the cleaning, snow removal, grass cutting etc. would occur to the standards already in place with the City's Facilities and Parks departments. On October 28, 2019, the OHT by email provided a revised list of housekeeping and maintenance requirements.
On November 8, 2019, administration initiated a further conference call with the OHT to discuss alternative options to the City taking on the full costing of the Duff-Bâby House. Administration requested they provide the cost to the City should it become a tenant of the first floor and of the Interpretation Centre. On November 13, administration received the per square foot cost to rent both areas of the property. The information is detailed in the below Financial section. It should be noted that the floor plan of the Duff-Bâby House is attached as Appendix D and the floor plan of the Interpretation Centre is attached as Appendix E.
The Financial section will outline two options to operate the facility including program supplies, advertising supplies, exhibition materials and staffing requirements. Both Options provide two choices regarding hours of operation. Option 1 focuses on the assumption that the City would become a tenant of the FIRST floor of the Duff-Bâby House. Option 2 focuses on the City becoming a tenant of the Interpretation Centre located on the property.
Risk Analysis:
Resource Risks- The Duff-Bâby House is a significant heritage resource at a provincial level. It has played a long and important role in the development of Sandwich Town and continues to draw attention from those seeking to learn more about our history.