The Events for Life organization is one step closer to securing land owned by the Town of The Blue Mountains for its new home.
At its committee of the whole meeting on Dec. 9, The Blue Mountains council unanimously voted in favour of a staff report authorizing town officials to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Events for Life for use of town-owned land next to the Beaver Valley Community Centre in Thornbury for the organization’s new permanent home.
The town and Events for Life have been working on the possibility for a number of months and staff came forward with a full report outlining the process, as well as the conditions council would need to consider supporting in the MOU.
Kevin Whyte, chair of the Events for Life board of directors, attended the meeting and spoke to council as a delegation.
“We have been working hard with staff to get to this point. We’re at a very critical point with this project,” said Whyte. “We have a lot of work to do in a very short period of time.”
Whyte said Events for Life needs to get the agreement from the town to use the land next to the community centre in order to begin fundraising for the building project. The facility will be designed to allow community usage during nights and weekends when it is not being used by Events for Life.
“We’re excited about where we are and the work that has been done with the town,” said Whyte.
The staff report on the MOU agreement listed a number of items for council to consider supporting to move the Events for Life project forward. Notable items included:
- Events for Life would like to build a 5,000 to 6,500-square-foot facility
- They would lease it from the town for a nominal fee of $1 per year on a 50-year lease
- Events for Life is asking for a grant or forgivable loan from the town of $500,000
- Events for Life is also asking for an interest-free loan from the town equal to 50 per cent of the building costs of the project. This would be conditional on Events for Life raising 50 per cent of the construction costs before construction begins
- Development charges for the project would be waived
- The facility would be tax-exempt
- The town would lead the planning process (if required) for the project to proceed
A full list of the items can be found in the report here.
Coun. Paula Hope said it was important for the town to fully understand its obligations in the agreement and she asked if Events for Life would be approaching Grey County about possible support.
“We need to make it work financially,” said Hope.
Whyte explained that Events for Life has a capital fundraising committee set up and ready to go once the MOU for the land is in place. He said they would be taking a multi-pronged approach to raising money for the project and would be approaching location foundations, organizations, and different levels of government. Whyte said they would be making presentations to Grey County and the Municipality of Meaford.
In 2023, Events for Life approached the town for assistance finding a new and permanent home, which led to the community centre property being identified as the best location available. The organization currently operates out of two locations: Beaver Creek Farms and Blue Mountain Community Church. The organization provides support to adults with intellectual disabilities and operates a successful day program.
Events for Life also operates a cafe at the Beaver Valley Community Centre during the winter months.
Events for Life is open four days a week and operating out of two locations presents logistical challenges for the organization, which has grown now to 33 regular participants.
Members of council were eager to move the project forward, but also wanted to ensure the town was fully informed of its responsibilities as financial contributor/lender to the project.
“We just need to know,” Hope said, adding that the town had to advance the project. “Events for Life has had to wait an inordinate amount of time for this day. Whatever we do, we have to do it quickly.”
Mayor Andrea Matrosovs said time was of the essence to advance the agreement to allow Events for Life to get moving on fundraising efforts.
“It’s very difficult for a non-profit organization to go out and solicit even pledges, let alone cheques, when they don’t know where the town stands,” said Matrosovs.
