“Property Exploration Committee” Report

presented to SGM of ICCC Members on 4th of Nov 2017

by Nitya Varma, Chair, Property Exploration Committee

The Resolution of the General Body passed at the AGM 2017 (cited for reference):

“It is hereby resolved at the ICCC AGM 2017 on the 22nd of April 2017 that the General Body of ICCC Members appoint a special “Community Centre Exploration Committee,” chaired by Mr. Nitya Varma, with the following terms of reference:

  1. This committee will explore collaboration with the City of Ottawa for a place for the community centre in a City property, for example, Nepean Sportsplex.
  2. Mr. Nitya Varma will within two weeks identify and name two additional members from the ICCC Membership to join this special committee. These names will be communicated to the President of the ICCC.
  3. There will be no costs incurred for the proceedings of the Special Committee.
  4. The special committee will provide regular monthly progress reports to the ICCC Board. The Board will reserve its option to maintain communication with the special committee and will be solely responsible to provide information to the ICCC membership during the exploration.
  5. Within six months― by Oct 31, 2017, the special “Community Centre Exploration Committee” will submit a detailed report on its findings. The report will provide details including space details, costs, implementation schedule, terms and conditions involved, and other pertinent details.
  6. Upon receipt of the Special Committee’s report, the ICCC Board will call a Special General Meeting (SGM) of the ICCC Membership to examine this report along with any other special matters, and provide further directions.”
Report of the Property Exploration Committee

This report is being submitted pursuant to the AGM 2017 ‘Property Exploration’ resolution cited above.

The 3-person committee comprises Nitya Varma (Chair), Om Madan (architect), and Darrel Kent (former City Councilor).  On behalf of the Committee, Nitya has been furnishing a monthly report to the ICCC Board on the Committee’s exploration with the city.

The Committee has been in negotiations with the City of Ottawa to define an arrangement for ICCC to use a designated space in Nepean Sportsplex located at 1701 Woodroffe Ave (at Hunt Club Road West). The details of the arrangement as given below.

The space details:

  1. A large banquet hall (rooms A & B) on the ground floor:
    • 1000-person capacity;
    • There’s a divider to divide the hall into two equal-size rooms A & B, which can be used concurrently;
    • Room dimensions 120 ft x 72 ft = 8640 sq ft;
    • The hall is wheelchair accessible from a huge parking lot;
    • There is a large lobby with a coat check facility and washrooms in the front side, and a serving room and storage facility in the back [this area is planned to be modified to build a full-fledged kitchen behind the serving room];
  2. A smaller banquet hall C on the 1st floor (above the ground floor):
    • 100-120-person capacity;
    • Room size approximately 1,000 sq feet;
    • There is a large commercial kitchen adjacent to the room.
  3. An office area (room E – dimensions 39′ x 72′ about 1,000 sq ft) on the 1st floor (above the ground floor):
    • A large size Board room to seat 40-50 people in an auditorium style;
    • An adjacent store room with a sink and running water; the counter top may be used for a tea kettle/coffee machine.

Facility Upgrade: The existing rooms are rented out to public on standard rental rates; we have proposed that the meeting rooms be renovated and upgraded to a top-notch banquet facility, comprising:

  • light and sound system upgrade,
  • flooring upgrade,
  • provision of a movable stage facility,
  • wall decorations etc. and
  • building an exclusive kitchen attached to the banquet hall on the ground floor.
  1. The Committee arranged the visit of the ICCC Board to see the site:
    • Kanwal Talwar, Chan Chandramouli, Aasha Mehta, Matraiyi (Mita) Saha, and Anil Agrawal visited the site along with Nitya Varma on Tuesday, September 5, 2017;
    • The Facility Manager at Nepean Sportsplex showed us the designated areas.
  2. The Committee asked for the Board’s feedback whether the facility is suitable for ICCC; the Board members unanimously gave their support for this facility and agreed that negotiations should continue with the City.
  3. After the support of the Board, Nitya met the Councillor of the area, Mr. Keith Egly on September 19, 2017 and updated him on the proposal made to the City about ICCC’s use of the facility at Nepean Sportsplex. Mr. Egly strongly suggested that ICCC also pay for renovation of the upper floor meeting room (room C).

After meeting the Councillor, Nitya reported as follows: “I had a very good meeting with the City Councillor Keith Egli. Now he is convinced that it is a very good proposal and would like to propose to the Council.”

Tentative terms of the proposal: The proposal is for a bipartite arrangement, i.e. ICCC would contribute funds to the City, and the City will allow ICCC i) naming rights to the banquet halls, and ii) free use of the facility on certain terms. The broad terms discussed are as follows:

  1. ICCC’s contribution:
    • The Committee originally proposed that ICCC would contribute $250,000 to City of Ottawa;
    • Councillor Egly increased the scope of negotiations by adding the renovation of the upper level banquet hall also; it is to be expected that the City will demand a greater contribution from ICCC to cover the increased renovation costs. The Committee is guessing the upper limit of up to $350,000.
  2. In consideration of the contribution, ICCC has asked for the following:
    • The renovated Banquet Hall to be named “Indo-Canadian Community Hall.”
    • ICCC be given an exclusive and perpetual free use of the 1st floor Board room and the store room as its offices with the signage “ICCC Offices” on the door;
    • ICCC be given perpetual free use of the Meeting Rooms A, B and C on 24 days in a year — a total of up to 72 community events may be able to use the meeting rooms;
    • City will maintain and manage the entire facility at no cost to ICCC.
  3. Value proposition — A win-win arrangement:
    • To the City: The City will garner an increased rental revenue because the upgraded banquet rooms (A Class facilities) will i) command a higher rent for the City, and ii) be in greater demand – The increased revenue through this community partnership will more than offset the free use of the facility by ICCC.
    • To ICCC:
      • The mainstream Ottawa community will be holding their events in ‘Indo-Canadian Community Hall’ throughout the year. This will raise ICCC’s profile in the Ottawa community!
      • ICCC will generate revenue from the community by renting out the available days of the meeting rooms at a preferred rate.
      • If we don’t use certain days, we can surrender those days and ask the City to rent out and split revenue earned with ICCC (% split to be suggested 60% ICCC / 40% City), or allow banking unused days for 3 years.
      • With a one-time investment (our contribution to the City), ICCC will have no recurring maintenance or operating costs for these facilities.
Next steps:
 
  1. The General Body of the ICCC Members:
    • approve the funding ($250,000 to $350,000) for this arrangement with the City,
    • provide guidance on the general terms and conditions, and
    • extend the term of the Property Exploration Committee until the next AGM, at which time the Committee will submit a status report, and seek further guidance.
  2. The Property Exploration Committee confirm the ICCC’s proposal to City officials.
  3. The City officials put forth a detailed proposal to the City Council for voting and approval – the Committee is trying to have a City Council vote this year.
  4. The City Council accord an approval in principle;
  5. The City officials and ICCC finalize the terms and conditions of the arrangement with ICCC – depending on the City’s demand for the amount of ICCC’s contribution and other terms and conditions put forth by the City lawyers, the ICCC Board may need to call one or more SGMs to finalize the terms of the project for final execution;
  6. The City Officials draw up a contract based on terms mutually agreed upon; the City and the ICCC finalize and sign up the contract;
  7. Only after the binding contract duly signed is in place, the City architects and engineers will prepare final architectural drawings and engineering plans, undertake the renovation/construction work, and determine a schedule;
  8. Finally, ICCC take possession of the office space, and work out implementation details with the City including logistics for booking, etc.