At Monday night's meeting of Elliot Lake City Council, the Elliot Lake Lions were granted the right to lease the Spine Beach canteen from the city.
Council was told the building has not been operated for several years and will need a lot of cleanup. After debate, council decided the agreement will be reviewed this fall with a view to extending the tender to 2020, after a request for proposal.
The Lions will provide proof of insurance coverage and compliance with all health regulations. The city will monitor canteen usage and other impacts of the agreement which would also deny any other vendor the chance to sell snacks at Spine Beach this summer.
"The Lions Club does a lot of good for a lot of people." Councillor Luc Cyr said, "As long as safety precautions are taken, I think it's a great opportunity."
The Spine Beach lease, which will be a nominal agreement, should be ready for signing as early as this Friday's special City Council meeting, set for 12 noon that day.
At the same time, ELATE and the Stage Door Players, both displaced from their quarters following.the Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre roof collapse last Feb. 21, have shown an interest in moving into the old downtown movie theatre, now owned by the city, on Elizabeth Walk.
City efforts to sell the property have so far failed to bear fruit. The theatre groups would like to rent the building to use it for storage and rehearsals, with a lease.
City of Elliot Lake CAO Daniel Gagnon told City Council the groups do not visualize presenting live shows there in the near future.
"Re-opening the space (which had a roof repair in 2017) to the general public may bring with it additional costs and AODA / Building Code requirements but for simple set storage and rehearsals, the space will be fine with minimal costs," Gagnon said in a written presentation.
Council decided to let the theatre people use the movie house but there was some concern by Councillor Tom Turner that having them pay utilities as a condition of the lease would exceed the $240 monthly rent they had previously paid the city for their former digs in the Civic Centre. He didn't want to impose an onerous utility cost which could set them up for failure.
There is $10 thousand in this year's city budget to help arts groups transition to new facilities. A representative for the Back Door Players said both theatre groups are amenable to signing a lease. He also said that there would be space for the city's weavers and potters, should they decide to sign on. Councillor Ed Pearce said,
"Good on ELATE, they went out and looked for it. With regard to other groups, it's up to them to come to us," Councillor Ed Pearce said.
The issue was deferred to a future meeting of city council to give the theatre groups and city staff time to work out an agreement.