Cornwall Ontario — The next Meeting of Cornwall City Council takes place at the Council Chambers on the Second Floor of City Hall at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 25th, 2013. Agenda items include a presentation from the Concerned Citizens Coalition, a proclamation that April 2013 be Parkinson’s Awareness Month, the City of Cornwall’s possible withdrawal of interest concerning the Travel Information Centre property on Brookdale Avenue, and how much financial support the City is willing to spend for the University Project for Cornwall and the United Counties and Akwesasne.

There will be a delegation from the Concerned Citizens Coalition giving a presentation. Mr. Josh Welsh and Mr. Mark A. MacDonald will be addressing Council regarding the “Community Proposal” for the former Cornwall General Hospital and are seeking Administrative Support to assist their Board of Directors in future detailed Site Plans.

There will also be a Proclamation that Council proclaim the month of April 2013 as “Parkinson’s Awareness Month” in the City of Cornwall. A request was received from the Parkinson’s Society of Ottawa to proclaim April 2013 as “Parkinson’s Awareness Month”, in an effort to bring awareness and deliver support and services for people living with Parkinson’s and their families in Eastern Ontario.

On Monday Council will vote whether or not to authorize Administration to provide notice to the Provincial Government’s Infrastructure Ontario, of its withdrawal of interest in acquiring the Travel Information Centre (Brookdale Avenue) property. According to a report, “Given the very prominent location, at the intersection of the two busiest streets in Cornwall, the best use for the property is private sector commercial development. While the Economic Development Department believes that the appraised value of $439,000 is very fair, the opportunity cost of the City utilizing the building for municipal use is high. It is therefore recommended that the City release its interest in the property, which would result in the Province listing the site on the open market.”

Council will vote whether or not to approve the contribution of $10,000 from the 2013 Economic Development Department budget for the University Project for Cornwall and the United Counties and Akwesasne, and up to $40,000 in additional funds from the investment income from the Progress Fund. “It should be noted that the Committee had secured $5000 in funding from the Eastern Ontario Training Board, as well as $20,000 from the United Counties of SD&G. Given its relevance to the Economic Development Strategic Plan, an amount of $10,000 is believed to be an appropriate figure to assign to the project from within its current budget. Should Council elect to provide additional funding, the current balance of up to $40,000 from the City of Cornwall could be funded from the available investment income from the Progress Fund. There is investment income available in the Progress Fund which could be considered as a source of funding for this initiative, however By-law #059-2008 would require a two thirds majority vote as this project is not under the care, custody and control of the City of Cornwall.”