Office of the Mayor – January 25, 2022
Dear Residents,
I could go into in-depth details regarding the current situation of the Township owned building. However, I will keep my comments relatively short. Contrary to the one-sided article in the Review Newspaper, township staff have been discussing in good faith with the tenant since the beginning of 2020 the different scenarios that could occur at the end of the December 31, 2020, lease; this is not new. Even though the lease ended, the township has maintained the current significant below rental market-rate and accepted the ongoing issue of missed rent payments in hopes of finding a solution.
The township offered multiple options to the tenant, even offering to trade the building for a portion of the approximate 100 acres of land owned by the tenant on St-Guillaume Road near our industrial park.
Unfortunately, no offers discussed by either party have been acceptable to the other thus far.
In our 2022 budget, the sale of this property will help considerably reduce the financing costs to rehabilitate a municipal bridge; without these funds, it would have necessitated a tax increase. We are always willing to work with the tenant in finding a solution that is beneficial to both parties; however, council does have a responsibility to all businesses and residents, not only one.
I wish to thank the community for their passionate response to this news article; this only shows our caring nature. I encourage everyone to continue supporting each other and our local businesses whenever we can.
Sincerely, Pierre Leroux, Mayor
