The City of Sault Ste. Marie is considering an investment of over a half-a-million dollars toward improvements to the YMCA and proposes backstopping a 10-year least on the property on behalf of a potential buyer who remains anonymous.
City CAO Tom Vair said, if the deal is approved, the yet-unnamed charitable foundation will pay $2 million for the building — about two-thirds of the $2.99 million asking price. The YMCA will enter into a $100,000 a year, 10-year lease that will be backstopped by the City of Sault Ste. Marie."There is financial risk of approximately $1 million over the ten-year lease term to the City in the event the YMCA cannot make any of these payments," he said.
"Should the YMCA begin to encounter financial difficulties, the City will seek the ability intervene and appoint a new Board of Directors and take other steps to ensure operations can be sustained and maintained," said Vair in the report. "This funding will enable capital repairs including the much-needed replacement of boilers in the building. Any repairs made to the building will be made to minimize investment and examine opportunities to relocate equipment to a new facility in the future ," said Vair in the report.