Powell River Regional District directors hammered out a sublease that will be presented to the Paradise Exhibition Park Society (PEPS) to replace the sublease that expired in November 2014.
At a special meeting of the board, Monday, June 22, directors reviewed clauses in the sublease that they thought were contentious, reached consensus and finalized the document for review with PEPS.
The regional district has a lease for the Paradise Valley exhibition property with the province called the head lease and has the right to sublet with provincial approval, which it has done with PEPS.
Patrick Brabazon, board chair and Electoral Area A director, suggested at the special meeting that directors review the sublease with PEPS.
Colin Palmer, Electoral Area C director, said he did not agree with everything in it.
“This report, to me, is not going to help the board solve the problems with PEPS,” Palmer said.
“I have some questions, but the way I am going to resolve them is to work through the questions that I have,” said Brabazon. “What are we going to do with the sublease with PEPS?”
Stan Gisborne, Electoral Area B director, in whose area the Paradise Valley exhibition grounds sit, said one contentious portion of the proposed sublease for PEPS stated that title and ownership of buildings, structures and other improvements shall be vested in the regional district.
“The improvements are up over $1 million and they want the improvements to be owned by the society that constructed them until such time that the society is no longer solvent,” Gisborne said. “Otherwise they support all of the other conditions.”
Gisborne said there is a previous lease dated 1983 that states the buildings and improvements are owned by the society until such time as they are no longer solvent and then they revert to the Crown.
Gisborne moved that the item be amended to state that ownership of the buildings and improvements be held by PEPS. The board voted in favour of the amendment.
The other concern expressed by PEPS, Gisborne said, was a section of the sublease that stated the park society agrees to pay for water and sewage services to the property. He said the clause needed slight changing to state the park society agrees to maintain the park water system under the conditions of the Coastal Health Regulations for Community Water Systems, including regular water sampling.
Al Radke, the regional district’s chief administrative officer, said the regional district was currently maintaining the water and sewage systems but would like to work with PEPS to divest that function. All rules and regulations and liabilities go along with the water quality.
Gisborne said he was confident PEPS would endorse the sublease with the amendments that he had brought to the board table.
The board voted in favour of the second amendment introduced by Gisborne.
The regional board then used the remainder of the special meeting to fine-tune the sublease.
In all, there were 10 sections or subsections of the sublease that were amended by the regional board during its special meeting.
