Last week's quick decision to shift 150 city staff to offices outside the downtown core continues to generate controversy. On Saturday, MPP Andrea Horwath distanced herself from the move in a letter to the Hamilton Spectator. The newspaper had quoted councillor Sam Merulla as saying Horwath supported the shift, but the MPP writes " I have never stated that necessary social services are 'contrary to what the long-term vision of the core was'."
The city's decision to end its lease at 31 King East and move to the corner of Wellington and Main also surprised its current landlord who found out about the move the day before the decision was finalized by council. Documents in the city staff report indicate the deal has been cooking since at least June but apparently the $12 million leasing arrangement didn't go through any kind of a public tendering process.
The proposal moves the Public Health department to a building at 250 Main East owned by Arthur Weisz, president of Effort Trust. It raises the city's annual rental costs for the department by 44% instead of the expected 11% increase expected at the present location.
The 15 year lease will pay Weisz $787,500 in annual rent. It was presented on Tuesday morning to a city committee and finalized less than 36 hours later at the Wednesday evening council meeting. The shift will force the relocation of federal employment services which have been subletting from the City at 31 King East.
Election campaign finance records show that Effort Trust and various other companies using its address at 240-242 Main Street East made donations of more than $13,000 to eleven city council candidates in last fall's municipal elections, including councillors Collins, Jackson, Merulla, Morelli, Whitehead and Mayor Di Ianni.
Effort Trust related donations to the latter two have been challenged as possibly illegal under the Municipal Elections Act. Dundas business-woman Joanna Chapman is currently before the Ontario Court of Justice seeking a compliance audit of the campaign donations to Di Ianni, Whitehead and seven other candidates.
The staff report argues that the move will improve downtown Hamilton by making the building available for commercial activities. The former regional government gave improving the downtown as the reason for originally leasing the building in 1998.
The staff report also contends that the move "decreases the concentration of social service agencies in one geographic location, such as the downtown core." This was the theme picked up by councillor Merulla.
The Spectator quoted Merulla as saying Horwath "felt that type of service was contrary to what the long-term vision of the core was." In her response, Horwath says she didn't say that and argues that downtown should be "a place where everyone belongs and everyone feels like they belong."
Horwath also states that when she was on city council "the prospect of moving 150 staff out to a building to the east was never on the table and I was not privy to that decision or any related discussions." That directly contradicts the city staff report which says the move was planned "after discussions with former Councillor Andrea Horwath".
The staff report can be viewed at
http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/Clerk/
agendas-minutes-reports/public-health-com-
serv/2004/Sept14/PD04222_%20HCS04055.pdf. Horwath's letter and the earlier Hamilton Spectator coverage are posted on here for your reference.
