The lease for Centre culturel Le Chenail has been retroactively extended for an additional year.
On Monday, June 3, Hawkesbury town council adopted a bylaw extending the centre’s lease of Maison de l’Île in Confederation Park until April 30, 2025.
On March 1, the town informed the Le Chenail board that its previous 10-year lease which was to expire on April 30 would only be extended for one year to April 30, 2025, and that the Town of Hawkesbury is performing an evaluation of all municipal properties to determine if their current uses are appropriate or should be changed. There has also been a long-standing disagreement between the cultural centre involving the payment of energy costs for the facility.
Mayor Robert Lefebvre said the recently approved least clearly specifies how those costs are to be shared by the centre and the town.
If Centre culturel Le Chenail is to have a future home at Maison de l’Île, it will depend on the outcome of the building use review process.
“It’s the review process that has to be done and completed,” Lefebvre said.
He added the municipality is required by law to perform these reviews.
“That’s a requirement under Ontario regulations,” Lefebvre explained.
Part of the review includes determining if the use of buildings fits their purpose. Maison de l’Île was originally the office building for the Hamilton sawmills which once stood by the Ottawa River on Ile du Chenail. For many years, the building was used by the Ontario government as a tourist information centre before eventually becoming the home of the cultural centre.
Lefebvre noted that in its 49-year history, Centre culturel Le Chenail was located at other facilities in town, including the Chevaliers de Colomb hall at the corner of William and Higginson streets.
Lefebvre said that later this year, municipal staff will have a recommendation for council about the future use of Maison de l’Île.
