Brain Injury Society seeks lease forgiveness in qathet region

Powell River Brain Injury Society must move its garden and is looking to the City of Powell River to help with the relocation.

In a letter to mayor and council, Debbie Dee, executive director of the society, stated that the society has been requested to vacate the current property on which the garden sits within 24 months. The society wants to move to an adjoining city property but does not have the funds to pay for the lease, according to Dee.

At the August 31 committee of the whole meeting, Dee said the society would love to be contributing to city coffers but can’t right now.

“However, we can look for sustainable funding and we can go to our funders and ask for increases for specific things,” said Dee. “If you would give us a little bit of time, because we are also in a bit of a transition at the brain injury society, with me training a successor. I’m looking forward to a semi-retirement soon.

“If the society can work with [director of properties, development and communications] Scott Randolph and the rest of the city, then maybe we can come up with some kind of sustained funding so that we could pay a lease.”

Dee said moving the garden is going to be a huge project for the society. She said that moving to the 0.27-acre portion of a property adjacent to the Phoenix Plaza, with a partnership with the Powell River Action Centre Society food bank, the brain injury society would be contributing to food security of the region for people with disabilities and those who are marginalized and living under the poverty line.

Chief administrative officer Russell Brewer said that the committee could give staff direction to bring back a lease reflecting consideration of a waiver for the first five years. He said the matter would have to come to city council for consideration.

The committee gave unanimous consent for staff to review the potential of a lease waiver.

Councillor George Doubt said he thought it was a good idea to ask staff to come back and report on a lease arrangement and a forgiveness of the lease payments for the first five years.

“It will come back to council in committee and we can discuss the financial implications and make a determination,” said Doubt. “It sounds like a good idea to me. It sounds like a worthy project and a good place to put it.

Councillor Rob Southcott said he very much appreciated what the brain injury society was doing with food.

“We’ve had discussions about food before and we’ve had one small item in the strategic plan with regard to that,” said Southcott. “I really think this depends on community initiatives. The brain injury society has done really well, so I wanted to bring that out. I have been looking for ways that we can embrace this, which isn’t part of our mandate municipally, but it’s certainly in the interests of the well-being of this community.”

Dee, in her letter, stated the society knew they would eventually have to move and built the garden components to be moved without damage. She stated that the society had not been charged any rent for the garden during the past eight years. At this time, none of the society’s funders will pay for the new space costs, according to Dee.

“The new garden space is perfect as it will allow us to increase the capacity of food security with year-round growing,” stated Dee.