Vegreville Town Council Revisits Rental Agreement

Vegreville Town Council Revisits Rental Agreement

Michelle Pinon News Advertiser

Vegreville town council revisited a rental agreement it has with the biotechnology company CHROMTEC during its legislative committee meeting on July 14.

The rental agreement was discussed in closed session in accordance with Section 197 of the Municipal Government Act which allows council to close a meeting to discuss matters where public disclosure could be harmful to third party business interest, third party personal privacy, individual or public safety, law enforcement, intergovernmental relations, and economic or other interests.

Back in April council agreed to suspend rental and utility payments for the months of April, May, and June to CHROMTEC, which rents a Cannabidiol, (CBD), facility along Highway 16A Vegreville.

During town council’s June 16 legislative committee meeting, Corporate Services Director Paul Casey stated the amount of the deferrals to CROMTEC equals $60,000. He also said that after June there would not be a deferral, and CROMTEC would pay $26,000 per month starting July 1, unless council directed otherwise. MacPhee responded by saying they would hope to capture it (funds) on the sales side of things.

During a recent telephone interview, MacPhee said, “Until the border opens or they (CHROMTEC) can get input from their investors, then once they decide and come to an agreement, they will have to wait to decide what to do before they negotiate with them and come to an agreement. And then it will be discussed in a public meeting and council will pass a motion as to what the plan will be.”

MacPhee said the company has rented the building from the town for a year now. He also said the company has renovated the facility to suit their needs, having brought over several pieces of specialized equipment from China. The company was planning to bring more equipment and its investors into Canada when the federal government banned international travel because of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Canada.

“They were well on their way, they had renovated that building, and they gave a big damage deposit to go ahead and renovate the building. Everything was going good, then COVID hit just before they put up that big sign, (located on the SE 17 Industrial Area). Investors were supposed to be here that week to look at the land and come up with a plan for this huge building they were going to build. And they were going to use the building they’re buying from us as an office and their labs. COVID has stopped everything in its tracks.”

MacPhee said the company has never produced any CBD in Canada, but CROMTEC was the first licensed CBD producer in China. He said the company has to be fully operational before Health Canada will conduct an inspection and issue a processing license. MacPhee said the town was planning on selling the building to CHROM TEC for $4 million, and the facility would be used to house the company’s labs and offices.

The town owns the building and has been making debenture payments for the last nine years or so, added MacPhee. The debenture payment is just over $235,000 per year. MacPhee said it was a previous council that had purchased the building and had decided to spread its debenture payments over 30 years. The town purchased the building for $4 million.

Murray Palamarek, Facility Project Coordinator for CHROMTEC, said they were grateful for the suspension of payments and will continue to work with the town on a positive basis.