City council meeting erupts over downtown parking fiasco

‘No one was trying to do anything untoward here’ - Coun. Corey Gardi

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1 / 1 The former Ontario Works building at 540 Albert St. was to be demolished. Then, it was chosen as the location for a new primary health facility to be built by Mamaweswen the North Shore Tribal Council, which represents seven First Nations, including Atikameksheng Anishinawbek, Batchewana FN, Garden River FN, Mississauga FN, Sagamok Anishnawbek, Serpent River FN, and Thessalon FN.Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday

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A large office building erected in the downtown parking lot of its predecessor building caused a head-splitting migraine for local officials on Monday night.

When the new Social Services building was constructed at 548 Albert St. East, the intent was to demolish the original Social Services building on the same lot.

But then, a buyer unexpectedly emerged for the old structure.

The problem was that there were parking requirements for the new development, requirements that couldn't be met if both buildings remained on the lot.

There was no space to provide all the needed parking on the property, and no easy way to legally divide 548 Albert into two separate lots to facilitate the sale.

The humiliating fiasco erupted at last night's city council meeting, with the proposed buyer reportedly ready to build an important new primary health care facility somewhere else if Sault Ste. Marie couldn't get its act together on the parking issue.

Disregarding concerns raised by small business owners, a former Sault mayor and Westminster Presbyterian Church, city council finally voted Monday to assign 90 passes in two downtown parking lots to North Shore Tribal Council (NSTC) and District of Sault Ste. Marie Housing Corp. (SSMHC).

Sixteen of the passes, which allow parking on a first-come, first-serve basis, will be in the city-owned Spring-March lot.

The other 74 passes will be distributed to the Brock-Albert lot.

The decision by city council relates to parking passes, not to parking spaces.

No parking spaces in the two affected lots will be marked as inaccessible to the public.

But the 90 new passes will mean drivers may find all parking spaces occupied at busy times.

In that case, they'll be directed to 40 other nearby spaces in the Bell Avenue parking lot on the opposite side of Queen Street.

A change of mind

In a report to council, Peter Tonazzo, the city's director of planning, and Brent Lamming, director of community services, explained how the parking shortage arose, when SSMHC changed its mind about demolishing its existing office building on Albert Street:

SSMHC recently completed construction of a new office building at 548 Albert St. East. The original plan was to tear down the existing office building, located on the same lot and turn this space into a parking lot.

Since that time, an opportunity has arisen to sell the old office building to the North Shore Tribal Council who intend to operate the building as an office use providing health services....

Social Services contacted city staff to explore the possibility of purchasing a total of 90 parking passes – 74 for the former SSMHC office building and 16 for the new SSMHC office building, in order to satisfy parking requirements in accordance with the committee of adjustment's conditions of severance approval.

As first reported last month by SooToday's Kenneth Armstrong, the prospective buyer for the old building is Mamaweswen the North Shore Tribal Council, which represents seven First Nations including Atikameksheng Anishinawbek, Batchewana FN, Garden River FN, Mississauga FN, Sagamok Anishnawbek, Serpent River FN, and Thessalon FN.

Truth and Reconciliation

"We started working very closely and, through the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation, we were able to approach this in a really beneficial way and I think from a good way," said District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board CEO Mike Nadeau.

Mayor Matthew Shoemaker didn't preside over last night's parking debate.

He declared a pecuniary interest (commonly described as a conflict of interest) because one of the parties involved is a client of the mayor's employer, a local law firm.

As required, Shoemaker left the council chambers and Ward 1 Coun. Sonny Spina took over as acting mayor.

50 new jobs

Spina talked about the importance of the North Shore Tribal Council initiative, saying it would bring 50 new jobs downtown.

"We have the opportunity to take a building that is nearly vacant, to something that will be paying property taxes and will be contributing to the economy of our community in addition to paying nearly $1 million over 20 years in fees to a parking system that currently loses somewhere around $300,000 a year," Spina said.

He described an "amazing triangle of care" emerging in a neighbourhood that very much needs new services.

"We have social services, police services, and with this with this addition, primary care and mental health and addiction services in the area of greatest need."

A former city police officer, Spina added: "I can tell you that nothing displaces crime and social disorder like an abundance of people. The more people that come downtown, the more people will visit your shops, the more people will engage with each other and will displace the crime and social disorder that happens downtown."

Joe Fratesi

In a rare return to the council chambers, former Mayor Joe Fratesi expressed concern about bulk-selling parking passes to big-office users, accusing the city of a lack of transparency.

"Let's be clear," Fratesi said. "No one has a problem with the old building being reused. It's a good building. But like any building in our city, it needs to have parking to support operations for its employees, patrons and its clients."

Fratesi was highly critical of what he says was inadequate notice of the parking-pass sales to neighbours.

A notice sent to nearby Westminster Presbyterian Church, for example, wasn't sent to the church building, but to a deceased member who hadn't been active in the church for more than 40 years.

"The report from city staff and the action that they recommend begs a question about transparency," Fratesi said

"Why did all businesses, services, churches.... They did not receive notice?"

Fratesi, also a former chief administrative officer, added that in all his years in municipal administration, he rarely saw a matter get to city council so quickly as this parking issue did after it encountered resistance at last month's meeting of the city's committee of adjustment.

Corey Gardi

But that kind of talk didn't sit well with Ward 4 Coun. Corey Gardi.

"What I don't appreciate is the insinuation that this was underhanded or we were trying to hide things," Gardi said.

"I heard Mr. Fratesi mention the word 'transparency.' I take issue with that because no one was trying to do anything untoward here, for sure."

Acting Mayor Spina concurred.

"I agree with Coun. Gardi's comments that nothing in my opinion was ever underhanded or nothing was done to try and secretly move this forward," Spina said.

"But we can always strive to be better in our communication. And I think staff are always striving to be better."

How they voted

Here's how your councillors voted on the motion approving sale of 90 parking passes to North Shore Tribal Council and District of Sault Ste. Marie Housing Corp: