2020 CIP grants contentious issue

LEAMINGTON — The status of six Community Improvement Plan (CIP) grant applications left Leamington council in a conundrum — as one councillor put it — because the work had been completed on many of them prior to approval.

At issue were six of last year’s eight applications, that had not yet been approved, but some of the applicants were looking for grant money after the work had been completed, despite no such final approval.

The normal procedure is that an application process begins, with renderings, quotes and plans submitted to the municipality. Once all paperwork is finished, the approval is given to the applicant, who then does the work to improve the outside of their business.

Two mitigating factors were at play in 2020. The first factor was the COVID pandemic and the second factor was that the person who was handling the applications for the municipality, left its employment halfway through the year, leaving both applicants and council without recourse.

Administration came to last week’s council meeting, seeking guidance from council on what to do with these applicants. They proposed two solutions, with the first one being directing administration to enter into the necessary agreements with the applicants. The second option would be to not approve those works undertaken without approval.

Councillor Paul Tiessen was the first to speak on the issue and he pulled no punches.

“I’m disappointed and shocked that we are in this situation,” he said. “I can understand one applicant can misunderstand the rules, but six of them?”

Tiessen said that the ball had been dropped and he awaited what other councillors would say.

Councillor John Hammond said that the situation definitely needs to be corrected. He said that some of these business owners had spent their own money for the betterment of the uptown area. Councillor Tim Wilkinson agreed with Tiessen.

“I mean, what kind of indication was given that it was okay to proceed?” he asked.

Mayor Hilda MacDonald compared the process to going to a bank to ask for a loan.

“I’d have to submit T-4’s, all the paperwork and if I don’t, I don’t get the loan,” she said. “Regardless of whether I already did the work. I believe the applicants have a lesson to learn. We have a policy in place and need to follow it.”

Council then welcomed delegations on the matter and first to speak was Sam Elias, who owns three of the six properties that applied.

“In 2018, after a conversation with Mr. Wilkinson, I called the town and asked about the program,” he said. “I then talked the Economic Development Officer, who told me I had to get a survey, architect and quotes. I hired an architect and submitted the drawings at town hall.”

Elias said he had two meetings with the former Economic Development Officer, and then heard nothing more about it. He went ahead and did his renovations, which were planned anyway, but the grant application wasn’t finalized.

“I kept calling the town and asking about the grants,” he said.

Deputy Mayor Larry Verbeke thought they should allow these applicants their grants, based on previous approvals of other properties that hadn’t met all qualifications. “It leaves us in a conundrum,” he said. Councillor Trevor Jones came up with what he viewed as a viable compromise.

“What if we capture these six 2020 applicants, bring them forward, get approvals based on invoices, drawings and eligibility, and approve them after the fact,” he said.

The majority of council agreed that due to the circumstances, Jones’ suggestion should be turned into a motion and voted on.

Councillor Tiessen reiterated his dismay, saying, “This can’t happen again. I’ll be the first to say scrap the program if it happens again.”

In the end, Jones’ motion won over Tiessen and Mac- Donald, and council voted in favour of the motion — unanimously — and those six 2020 applicants will be given an opportunity to comply with the process and be individually considered for the grants.