Peggy Revell
The local public school board will hold a special meeting Monday morning to approve resolutions needed to acquire a building permit in order to proceed with construction of the new Robert Moore School here later this month.
“When you start a $14-million project, you want to start by ensuring that everything is in place,” Jack McMaster, director of education for the Rainy River District School Board, said this morning.
He noted that to get the official approval to build, the board currently is working with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Ministry of the Environment, as well as the Town of Fort Frances.
“Part of the plan that we’re working out with the town includes some funding, and so we’re going to be bringing three resolutions with respect to the site management plan to our trustees on Monday morning, and hopefully we will have our part done by Monday morning,” McMaster explained.
“And then it will go to the mayor for final sign-off and that could be done sometime that week,” he added.
The resolutions include:
•that the Rainy River District School Board abandon existing water and sewer easements within the Robert Moore School land and convey to the town an easement 30’ in width to accommodate the existing sanitary sewer;
•that the Rainy River District School Board will grant an easement in perpetuity over and upon the portion of the board (Robert Moore School) land that is currently being utilized as a public laneway; and
•that the Rainy River District School Board establish security in the form of a GIC in the name of The Corporation of the Town of Fort Frances in trust to the Rainy River District School Board for $455,000 in compliance with the site plan agreement for the Robert Moore capital project.
“It’s a major development, and there’s a lot of documents and submissions that have to be in place prior to the town saying, ‘Okay, you’re ready for a building permit’ and stuff like that,’” noted Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig.
This includes the school board having to apply for an official plan amendment, which has been submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said McCaig.
And following approval by the ministry, there also will be an appeal period that will expire July 16.
As well, before getting a building permit, the school board is required to provide a series of documentations and execute a site plan agreement, McCaig explained.
“The area there is under site plan control so there’s a number of requirements that the town has in regards to development under site plan control,” he noted.
Certain plans, like the storm water management, already have been submitted, reviewed, and accepted by the town, he added.
“There’s no reason to think that by the time that the appeal period ends, that all those documents shouldn’t be in place and they’re ready to go,” McCaig remarked.
Other resolutions slated to be put forward at the school board’s special meeting, which gets underway at 8 a.m. on Monday, include:
•awarding the temporary borrowing for $11,497,014 on the Robert Moore capital project to the Royal Bank of Canada (bridge funding until the funding from the ministry comes through);
•awarding the banking tender to CIBC for the period of five years commencing on Sept. 1, 2009, with the option of two one-year extensions;
•awarding RFP-SS2009 for Fort Frances High School security camera upgrade to Sunset Lock and Security;
•approving the purchase of two trucks for plant department out of surplus funds in 2008/09; and
•approving the architectural contract for the Mine Centre School project with Evans Bertrand Hill Wheeler Architecture Inc.
