Back to SearchThere is information circulating that suggests that the City is disposing of the Keewatin Medical Clinic without provisions for the new owner to retain medical services in the building. This information is not accurate, and does not reflect the public Expression of Interest (EOI) document that was publicized and available for anyone to submit an interest in the building, including the doctors of the Keewatin Medical Clinic.
Early in the 2018-2022 term of Council, Administration was directed to explore opportunities to divest of certain municipal properties that were vacant parcels of land or buildings that are not occupied by municipal staff. These properties carry significant costs to the municipality as there is ongoing maintenance of both buildings and properties, capital improvements required to keep them running, and carry ongoing risk and liability to the municipality.
The City engaged an external consultant to assist in creating the Vacant Lands and Growth Strategy which identifies municipal properties that have the potential to be marketed and declared surplus to the needs of the municipality. We have successfully sold numerous municipal properties including 1125 Hwy 17 E (former OPP station) and Town Island (effective July 2022), both of which had lease commitments and costs associated with their respective lease arrangements. The City is also in the legal process of disposing of 243 Rabbit Lake Road facility (former Town of Jaffray Melick office). Council has also supported the hiring of a Lands Acquisition and Divestment Officer to oversee all of our property transactions. 904 Ottawa Street (Keewatin Medical Centre) is simply part of the overall larger picture of municipal property divestment and the City striving to exit its role as a landlord where feasible.
The City of Kenora took ownership of 904 Ottawa Street at amalgamation. It has been leased to the Keewatin Medical Centre since 1985 when the original lease was executed between the Keewatin Doctors of the day and the Town of Keewatin.
As part of Council direction, in early 2019, the City initiated discussions with the Keewatin Medical Centre representatives and the Kenora Health Care Centre Board (KHCB) to take over care and control of the building and have KHCB act as the landlord. This Board acts in a similar capacity for the doctors working out of the Paterson Medical Clinic in Kenora and part of the Board’s mandate is to manage a significant asset within the City intended for the provision of health care services to the community. The City felt this was a natural fit and aligned well for all medical professionals in the community and the mandate of the KHCB.
During these discussions, the City suggested a transfer of ownership to the Kenora Health Care Centre Board for one dollar. That transfer was contingent on the fact that the facility continues to function as health care services in Keewatin. Unfortunately, the parties could not come to an agreement and discussions broke off in early 2021. The City respects and values the work of the doctors and did not wish to force an arrangement on the Clinic that did not serve the Clinic’s interests.
The City then re-engaged with the representatives of the Keewatin Medical Centre to discuss the potential for a direct sale of the building to the doctors of the Keewatin Medical Centre for one dollar. A representative for the doctors expressed that this was not the doctors’ preference and the City advised the representative that we would be proceeding with an EOI process to divest of the property, ensuring that the emphasis in the EOI document focused on medical services being retained in that building.
Publishing an EOI is an exploratory process to obtain an informal declaration that a potential buyer has interest in purchasing a property. There is no obligation on the City to accept any proposal submitted during an EOI process.
Representatives of the Keewatin Medical Clinic were strongly encouraged, if they desired, to submit their interest in the building starting in late 2021 prior to the EOI being published publicly in April 2022.
On June 2, 2022 the EOI process closed and two bids were received. A deputation was made to Council on June 7, 2022 indicating that the representatives of Keewatin Medical Clinic were surprised to hear of the EOI and sale of the building.
Council and Administration for the City of Kenora have deep respect and admiration for the doctors at the Keewatin Medical Clinic and value the hard work of these doctors in our community. The potential sale of this building has nothing to do with supporting the medical community. The potential decision aligns with an overall organizational strategy pertaining to the divestment of municipal property. To be abundantly clear, the City has not made a decision to divest of this property. The City will review the proposals submitted and if a viable option exists, the City will meet with the doctors of the Keewatin Medical Clinic to discuss the option.
The City was very clear in the Expression of Interest (EOI) Introduction that: the purpose of the process is to select a successful proponent to acquire the property located at 904 Ottawa Street, otherwise known as the Keewatin Medical Centre. While all proposals will be considered, the primary interest of the City in divesting of this this property is to retain medical services in Keewatin and proponents with proposals that intend on doing so will be prioritized.
The City is actively in communication and working collaboratively with the doctors of the Keewatin Medical Centre. The Expression of Interest process simply allows the City to obtain information regarding who may be interested in ownership of the facility, while maintaining the operation of medical services.
There has been no intent at any point in this process to interrupt medical services in the community, and that remains true today. The only intent is to divest the property and remove the landlord management and operation of the facility from the City to a new owner and the option remains for the City to retain ownership.
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