Council OKs BIA budget, essentially deferring Meridian Place payment in 2021 - BarrieToday

In a roundabout manner, Barrie city council has approved the Downtown BIA’s deferral of its 2021 share of Meridian Place’s construction costs.

On Tuesday, council agreed to levy $561,077 upon commercial and industrial properties in the Downtown Improvement Area, and approved the BIA’s 2021 operating and capital budgets, which do not include $151,077 toward Meridian Place.

BIA executive director Kelly McKenna, in a May 20 letter to city treasurer Craig Millar, said an agreement between the city and BIA for a repayment schedule can be discussed in the coming months for Meridian Place, an outdoor events space in downtown Barrie.

“I believe in particular a repayment plan would be developed,” Coun. Ann-Marie Kungl said Tuesday.

McKenna’s letter is also a formal request by the BIA to defer its 2021 capital commitment to Meridian Place. In the letter, she said the pandemic has caused many businesses to close, causing uncertainty and stress. Imposing an additional charge of $151,295 this year would add an average levy of $493.35 to each of the BIA’s 256 properties, bringing the total average levy to almost $2,323. 

The deferral would allow the BIA board to stick to its 2021 budget of $561,077.

The agreement between the city and BIA, signed in 2015, states the BIA will pay one-third of the shareable Meridian Place project costs through the city imposing a special charge, according to the Municipal Act. It would be charged during a 10-year period beginning two years after the substantial completion in 2018 of Meridian Place, located in downtown Barrie just below Memorial Square.

So the BIA was initially due to repay about $1.51 million in full on or before 2030.

But this deal did not include a specific requirement that a payment be made each year. 

Last year, due to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions on businesses, city council approved an extension of that 10-year timeline for the remaining payments by one additional year, with final payment in 2031. 

The BIA is also responsible for co-ordinating community contributions or fundraising for Meridian Place, which are to be at least one- third of the total cost of the project. Any shortfall in fundraising will be added to the BIA’s share, and any contributions exceeding one-third of that total cost will be used to decrease the BIA’s share. The city is responsible for paying the final third of this project.

But Mayor Jeff Lehman said Tuesday there is other good news about the project’s financing. 

“I don’t want it (the motion) to pass that we don’t say thank you because we need to say 100 thank-yous to those who donated to Meridian Place,” he said. “Lost in some of the discussion around this is the fact that... more money was donated than was even assumed to be part of the fundraising plan.

“Our target was $1.3 million in fundraising, $1.8 million was donated and in no small part by Meridian Credit Union themselves,” Lehman added. “But many other organizations and individuals in Barrie donated. I don’t want it to be lost or in any way those donations to be affected by discussions of payments, schedules or anything else. We hugely appreciate it on behalf of the people in Barrie who know how committed those donors are to the community.

"I do want to say thank you again tonight.”

There are 256 properties in the BIA area and the median assessment value of these properties is $531,000, according to city staff. Based on the BIA board’s approved 2021 budget, a property at the median value will be levied almost $1,830 this year in addition to the general City of Barrie property taxes which are applicable.

Imposing an additional capital charge in 2021 of $151,295, or one-tenth of the BIA’s total Meridian Place  commitment, would add $493.35 to the levied amount — bringing the total BIA levy portion to $2,323, or an increase of 26.97 per cent.

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Council OKs BIA budget, essentially deferring Meridian Place payment in 2021 - BarrieToday
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