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The City of Ottawa has a previously undisclosed agreement to split costs related to the construction of private infrastructure with a south-end soccer club.
According to an email obtained by the Citizen, the city made the agreement with Ottawa South United in 2015 to share 50 per cent of the costs of “infrastructure” related to the development of George Nelms Sports Park in Manotick.
The City of Ottawa bought the park from OSU for $1.3 million in 2010. The purchase came with a clause granting the soccer club exclusive use of two of the fields at the park at no cost to OSU. The club then got permission from the city to convert one of those fields into a private, fenced-off training facility.
The city has maintained it spent no money on the private facility. The revelation of the “50/50 split of costs” agreement between the city and OSU, though, raises new questions about the city’s financial commitments.
The club contacted the city in July 2015 to confirm a cost-sharing agreement. At that time, the club was moving ahead with plans to build the facility, complete with artificial turf, fencing and locked gates.
The email has the subject line “Construction of Artificial Turf at George Nelms Park – Term Sheet.” In it, the OSU seeks specifics on the project from city staff so the club could prepare to begin construction on the public lands.
“As per our discussion at the June 30th meeting we are following up with a Draft Term Sheet for your review. Please review and provide us with your feedback. As mentioned at our meeting, OSU is very excited about this project and will like to know what are the next steps to make this project move ahead.”
Mike Russet, planner at the City of Ottawa, replied to the OSU on July 21, 2015.
“Infrastructure — 50/50 split of costs is contingent on details & specifications of servicing requirements… TBD (sic), but is the intent as per agreed,” Russet wrote.
Dan Chenier, general manager of parks, recreation and cultural services, said the reference to a 50/50 split of costs refers to a field house OSU intended to build on the property.
“The city did not pay for the synthetic turf. The 50/50 split of costs does not relate to the turf project. This reference relates to site servicing that will be required to support the eventual construction of a field house under the Community Partnership Major Capital program,” he said in an emailed statement.
The field house has not been built and the city has stated that the club has postponed its plans for the field house indefinitely so it could put its resources into building the artificial turf.
The July 21 email highlights a series of negotiations that took place between OSU and city staff. There was a trust fund set up between OSU and the City of Ottawa that had at least $1 million in it to cover unspecified construction costs. OSU also approached the city to see if there was a way it could mitigate the amount of HST it had to pay on the project by having the City of Ottawa manage the construction of the facility on its behalf.
“(Our dept.) has been advised by Financial Services Unit that OSU will not benefit from the City managing the project, nor is there a mechanism that OSU can use that would provide a ‘City’ HST benefit … OSU would be better off withdrawing the $1M funds being held in trust and exploring HST rebate options available to non-profit organizations,” Russet wrote in the email.
The email also discusses that a “Phase 2” for the project at George Nelms Sports Park is already in the works; however, details about what Phase 2 consists of and whether other fields at the park will be turned into artificial grass playing surfaces were not discussed.
OSU has said the facility is necessary for development of its 6,800 players in Ottawa’s south end. Most OSU soccer players play in the club’s house league programs, which do not get regular access to that facility. The field is used almost exclusively by a handful of OSU’s elite Force Academy competitive teams.
The Citizen approached Gloucester-Southgate Ward Coun. Diane Deans last week to discuss the original decision by city staff to allow OSU to bulldoze a field and construct the private training facility.
An access-to-information request filed under provincial privacy laws has returned emails showing that Deans, who chairs the committee responsible for the Parks and Recreation Department, has been regularly forwarded questions about the development.
When asked to comment on the park, and given more than three business days to do so, Deans declined.
“I was able to speak with Councillor Deans and given the complex history of this file she’s not prepared to comment without a clear understanding of the questions,” replied Bronwen Graham, a spokesperson for Deans.
An explainer: What’s happened at George Nelms Sports Park?
How did a private soccer training facility end up being erected on a public park in Manotick? Are taxpayers are getting value for their money and their land? Is this normal? The Citizen’s Vito Pilieci walks through some questions — and offers some answers — around the deal involving George Nelms Sports Park, the city and the Ottawa South United soccer club.
What is George Nelms Sports Park?
It’s a 32-acre property in Manotick that now contains six soccer fields.
Why are there soccer fields in the middle of a rural area surrounded by farm lands?
There was never supposed to be soccer fields on that property. According to the City of Ottawa’s official plan, the land on which George Nelms Sports Park now sits was zoned as “agricultural.” There are strict policies around rezoning farm land for other uses due to the ever-declining amount of it here in the capital. So, when the OSU first made the request to build soccer fields on the property, the city said no. OSU appealed that decision to the Ontario Municipal Board, though, and won.
The next year, the soccer club paid $250,000 to buy the land.
So the soccer club owns the land?
No. In 2010, the city of Ottawa spent $1.3 million to buy the property from a land-holding company affiliated with OSU.
If the land was bought for $250,000 in 2006, why did the city pay $1.3 million for it four years later?
The City of Ottawa’s auditor general couldn’t answer this one. According to OSU, costs associated with building the park became onerous. It entered negotiations with the City of Ottawa to purchase the lands. In March 2015, the City of Ottawa’s auditor general, Ken Hughes, released a report on the city’s purchase after a complaint from the public. He found the city breached purchasing policies and failed to get an independent appraisal of the value of the property, and that there was no evidence to suggest that the work OSU put into the property should account for a 500 per cent increase in value.
City staff relied on estimates provided by OSU to determine whether the sale price was acceptable. Payment was made in cash, according to the auditor general’s report, because the sellers wanted to use that money to build a field house on the property.
The information we do have clouds the picture further. A “fee schedule” was submitted by OSU to the City of Ottawa as part of a Site Plan Agreement for the lands in 2005. In its estimates, OSU said that landscaping fees associated with building two fields on the property would cost $20,000. An additional $20,000 would need to be spent on a parking lot. Storm sewers would add another $10,000, bringing the “total works on private property” to $50,000 in costs.
That still leaves a major gap between the $250,000 the OSU paid for the land and the $1.3 million the city paid.
Why are we talking about this in 2016?
Earlier this year, OSU revealed a brand new training facility, complete with an artificial turf field and gated entry, on Field 1 at George Nelms Sports Park. OSU started construction on the facility last fall, bulldozing the city-owned grass soccer field that was once at that location. The construction raised eyebrows from residents in the area, who started asking questions.
Why is OSU building soccer fields?
The club wants to have a marquee home field location, complete with a field house, where it could train, play games and host tournaments. That field house, which the city has promised to commit as much as $500,000 toward, has still not been built.
If the city owns the park, having paid $1.3 million for it, then residents are free to use the fields, right?
The answer to this question is a strong, “maybe”. There are six soccer fields at George Nelms. When negotiating the purchase agreement for the park, a group affiliated with OSU was successful in securing a 15-year “exclusivity agreement” to fields 1 and 2. What that means is, every year at midnight on Jan. 1, permits are issued to OSU for the entire calendar year, barring anyone else from using those fields, even during odd-hours when the club isn’t using them. OSU is also given “priority” for the remaining four fields in the park each season. That means, if another club or a group of Ottawa residents wants to use fields 3 through 6, they need to check with OSU first.
How else does OSU benefit from the deal with the city?
OSU does not pay the city for use of the field. It also does not pay property taxes on its new facility, since it sits in a city-owned park.
Did city council approve the arrangement?
The construction of OSU’s training facility at George Nelms Sports Park was approved by city staff using their power of “delegated authority” to make decisions on behalf of council.
Dan Chenier, general manager, parks, recreation and cultural services, says city council was made aware of OSU’s plans through an omnibus report. That report (called the Capital Programs Summary of Funding Allocations) detailed all of the spending the city has committed to during the calendar year. However, nowhere in the nine-page report does it reference any of OSU’s intentions to build a training facility. OSU isn’t mentioned until the very last line of the third appendix to the report, called “Document 3,” which states that the club is pushing out its plans to build a field house on the property.
“Project is deferred as Ottawa South United Soccer Association’s priority project is now to construct an artificial turf field at their own cost and using OSU funds originally intended for field house construction. The field house project timeline is to be determined. (Parks and Recreation) continues to work with OSU for complete development of this site,” reads the report.
The report does not say that city staff had been in negotiations with the soccer club for months to provide the approvals necessary to allow construction in the public park.
Is this situation normal?
It seems unusual. Here’s a similar initiative to compare it to: The National Capital Industrial Soccer League partnered with the City of Ottawa at the Richcraft Recreation Complex in Kanata in 2014. The league paid the difference for installing an artificial turf field in the city-owned park and it paid $720,000 to secure a 10-year lease with the city to use the facilities. However, the league’s lease only grants it 500 hours of field use per season. The remaining 1,000-plus hours of available field time can be leased to other soccer clubs, or residents by the City of Ottawa.
West Ottawa Soccer and the Nepean Hotspurs are in discussions to raise as much as $3 million needed to cover a privately owned artificial turf, which was installed at Wesley Clover Park by FIFA as part of the 2015 Women’s World Cup of soccer. West Ottawa Soccer has also hammered out a deal with the privately owned Thunderbird Sports Centre on Richardson Side Road in Kanata, for use of the artificial turf at that facility.
查看原文...
According to an email obtained by the Citizen, the city made the agreement with Ottawa South United in 2015 to share 50 per cent of the costs of “infrastructure” related to the development of George Nelms Sports Park in Manotick.
The City of Ottawa bought the park from OSU for $1.3 million in 2010. The purchase came with a clause granting the soccer club exclusive use of two of the fields at the park at no cost to OSU. The club then got permission from the city to convert one of those fields into a private, fenced-off training facility.
The city has maintained it spent no money on the private facility. The revelation of the “50/50 split of costs” agreement between the city and OSU, though, raises new questions about the city’s financial commitments.
The club contacted the city in July 2015 to confirm a cost-sharing agreement. At that time, the club was moving ahead with plans to build the facility, complete with artificial turf, fencing and locked gates.
The email has the subject line “Construction of Artificial Turf at George Nelms Park – Term Sheet.” In it, the OSU seeks specifics on the project from city staff so the club could prepare to begin construction on the public lands.
“As per our discussion at the June 30th meeting we are following up with a Draft Term Sheet for your review. Please review and provide us with your feedback. As mentioned at our meeting, OSU is very excited about this project and will like to know what are the next steps to make this project move ahead.”
Mike Russet, planner at the City of Ottawa, replied to the OSU on July 21, 2015.
“Infrastructure — 50/50 split of costs is contingent on details & specifications of servicing requirements… TBD (sic), but is the intent as per agreed,” Russet wrote.
Dan Chenier, general manager of parks, recreation and cultural services, said the reference to a 50/50 split of costs refers to a field house OSU intended to build on the property.
“The city did not pay for the synthetic turf. The 50/50 split of costs does not relate to the turf project. This reference relates to site servicing that will be required to support the eventual construction of a field house under the Community Partnership Major Capital program,” he said in an emailed statement.
The field house has not been built and the city has stated that the club has postponed its plans for the field house indefinitely so it could put its resources into building the artificial turf.
The July 21 email highlights a series of negotiations that took place between OSU and city staff. There was a trust fund set up between OSU and the City of Ottawa that had at least $1 million in it to cover unspecified construction costs. OSU also approached the city to see if there was a way it could mitigate the amount of HST it had to pay on the project by having the City of Ottawa manage the construction of the facility on its behalf.
“(Our dept.) has been advised by Financial Services Unit that OSU will not benefit from the City managing the project, nor is there a mechanism that OSU can use that would provide a ‘City’ HST benefit … OSU would be better off withdrawing the $1M funds being held in trust and exploring HST rebate options available to non-profit organizations,” Russet wrote in the email.
The email also discusses that a “Phase 2” for the project at George Nelms Sports Park is already in the works; however, details about what Phase 2 consists of and whether other fields at the park will be turned into artificial grass playing surfaces were not discussed.
OSU has said the facility is necessary for development of its 6,800 players in Ottawa’s south end. Most OSU soccer players play in the club’s house league programs, which do not get regular access to that facility. The field is used almost exclusively by a handful of OSU’s elite Force Academy competitive teams.
The Citizen approached Gloucester-Southgate Ward Coun. Diane Deans last week to discuss the original decision by city staff to allow OSU to bulldoze a field and construct the private training facility.
An access-to-information request filed under provincial privacy laws has returned emails showing that Deans, who chairs the committee responsible for the Parks and Recreation Department, has been regularly forwarded questions about the development.
When asked to comment on the park, and given more than three business days to do so, Deans declined.
“I was able to speak with Councillor Deans and given the complex history of this file she’s not prepared to comment without a clear understanding of the questions,” replied Bronwen Graham, a spokesperson for Deans.
An explainer: What’s happened at George Nelms Sports Park?
How did a private soccer training facility end up being erected on a public park in Manotick? Are taxpayers are getting value for their money and their land? Is this normal? The Citizen’s Vito Pilieci walks through some questions — and offers some answers — around the deal involving George Nelms Sports Park, the city and the Ottawa South United soccer club.
What is George Nelms Sports Park?
It’s a 32-acre property in Manotick that now contains six soccer fields.
Why are there soccer fields in the middle of a rural area surrounded by farm lands?
There was never supposed to be soccer fields on that property. According to the City of Ottawa’s official plan, the land on which George Nelms Sports Park now sits was zoned as “agricultural.” There are strict policies around rezoning farm land for other uses due to the ever-declining amount of it here in the capital. So, when the OSU first made the request to build soccer fields on the property, the city said no. OSU appealed that decision to the Ontario Municipal Board, though, and won.
The next year, the soccer club paid $250,000 to buy the land.
So the soccer club owns the land?
No. In 2010, the city of Ottawa spent $1.3 million to buy the property from a land-holding company affiliated with OSU.
If the land was bought for $250,000 in 2006, why did the city pay $1.3 million for it four years later?
The City of Ottawa’s auditor general couldn’t answer this one. According to OSU, costs associated with building the park became onerous. It entered negotiations with the City of Ottawa to purchase the lands. In March 2015, the City of Ottawa’s auditor general, Ken Hughes, released a report on the city’s purchase after a complaint from the public. He found the city breached purchasing policies and failed to get an independent appraisal of the value of the property, and that there was no evidence to suggest that the work OSU put into the property should account for a 500 per cent increase in value.
City staff relied on estimates provided by OSU to determine whether the sale price was acceptable. Payment was made in cash, according to the auditor general’s report, because the sellers wanted to use that money to build a field house on the property.
The information we do have clouds the picture further. A “fee schedule” was submitted by OSU to the City of Ottawa as part of a Site Plan Agreement for the lands in 2005. In its estimates, OSU said that landscaping fees associated with building two fields on the property would cost $20,000. An additional $20,000 would need to be spent on a parking lot. Storm sewers would add another $10,000, bringing the “total works on private property” to $50,000 in costs.
That still leaves a major gap between the $250,000 the OSU paid for the land and the $1.3 million the city paid.
Why are we talking about this in 2016?
Earlier this year, OSU revealed a brand new training facility, complete with an artificial turf field and gated entry, on Field 1 at George Nelms Sports Park. OSU started construction on the facility last fall, bulldozing the city-owned grass soccer field that was once at that location. The construction raised eyebrows from residents in the area, who started asking questions.
Why is OSU building soccer fields?
The club wants to have a marquee home field location, complete with a field house, where it could train, play games and host tournaments. That field house, which the city has promised to commit as much as $500,000 toward, has still not been built.
If the city owns the park, having paid $1.3 million for it, then residents are free to use the fields, right?
The answer to this question is a strong, “maybe”. There are six soccer fields at George Nelms. When negotiating the purchase agreement for the park, a group affiliated with OSU was successful in securing a 15-year “exclusivity agreement” to fields 1 and 2. What that means is, every year at midnight on Jan. 1, permits are issued to OSU for the entire calendar year, barring anyone else from using those fields, even during odd-hours when the club isn’t using them. OSU is also given “priority” for the remaining four fields in the park each season. That means, if another club or a group of Ottawa residents wants to use fields 3 through 6, they need to check with OSU first.
How else does OSU benefit from the deal with the city?
OSU does not pay the city for use of the field. It also does not pay property taxes on its new facility, since it sits in a city-owned park.
Did city council approve the arrangement?
The construction of OSU’s training facility at George Nelms Sports Park was approved by city staff using their power of “delegated authority” to make decisions on behalf of council.
Dan Chenier, general manager, parks, recreation and cultural services, says city council was made aware of OSU’s plans through an omnibus report. That report (called the Capital Programs Summary of Funding Allocations) detailed all of the spending the city has committed to during the calendar year. However, nowhere in the nine-page report does it reference any of OSU’s intentions to build a training facility. OSU isn’t mentioned until the very last line of the third appendix to the report, called “Document 3,” which states that the club is pushing out its plans to build a field house on the property.
“Project is deferred as Ottawa South United Soccer Association’s priority project is now to construct an artificial turf field at their own cost and using OSU funds originally intended for field house construction. The field house project timeline is to be determined. (Parks and Recreation) continues to work with OSU for complete development of this site,” reads the report.
The report does not say that city staff had been in negotiations with the soccer club for months to provide the approvals necessary to allow construction in the public park.
Is this situation normal?
It seems unusual. Here’s a similar initiative to compare it to: The National Capital Industrial Soccer League partnered with the City of Ottawa at the Richcraft Recreation Complex in Kanata in 2014. The league paid the difference for installing an artificial turf field in the city-owned park and it paid $720,000 to secure a 10-year lease with the city to use the facilities. However, the league’s lease only grants it 500 hours of field use per season. The remaining 1,000-plus hours of available field time can be leased to other soccer clubs, or residents by the City of Ottawa.
West Ottawa Soccer and the Nepean Hotspurs are in discussions to raise as much as $3 million needed to cover a privately owned artificial turf, which was installed at Wesley Clover Park by FIFA as part of the 2015 Women’s World Cup of soccer. West Ottawa Soccer has also hammered out a deal with the privately owned Thunderbird Sports Centre on Richardson Side Road in Kanata, for use of the artificial turf at that facility.
查看原文...
