Hawkesbury town council has decided to renew Centre Culturel Le Chenail Cultural Centre’s lease at the Maison de l’île in Confederation Park for two years.
Council approved the decision on Monday, December 9. On March 1, 2024, 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 was 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.
On December 9, Suzanne Hocquard of the Le Chenail board appeared before council and requested a renewal of the lease for five years, even though it is difficult to secure grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation if a lease is for under 10 years.
Hocquard highlighted the contribution of the centre to local cultural life and the economy. She emphasized that during the past 10 years, the centre has been successful in securing federal and provincial grants for its programming and for facility improvements.
Hocquard said another long-term lease is preferable because it will allow the centre to secure further grants and to keep it going in a forward direction
Centre Culturel Le Chenail is planning activities to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025.
“The cultural centre is very important to the town,” Mayor Robert Lefebvre said, following Hocquard’s presentation.
“I’m very proud of your presentation,” he added.
Due to Maison de l’île being a municipal property and the lease to the cultural centre being a legal matter, council discussed the matter further during a closed session on December 9. When council returned to open session, Councillor Julie Séguin read the resolution extending the lease for two years. The resolution indicated that the evaluation of the property found concerns with the roof, which require further examination before a longer-term lease may be considered.
There were no questions or comments from councillors about resolution. Councillor Jeanne Charlebois voted against granting Centre Culturel Le Chenail an additional two-year lease at Maison de l’île.
Hocquard said a longer lease than two years would have made it easier for the cultural centre to secure grant funding to make any improvements to the building.
“They don’t want our help with the structure, so they don’t care what we have. Two years is all I got,” she remarked.
