The Region of Queens Municipality is looking for proposals from people interested in purchasing the former Mount Pleasant School.
The school, built in 1957, was declared surplus by the municipality in September 2017.
Council made that decision due in part to rising maintenance costs.
Mayor David Dagley says the building must be sold at fair market value – the school has been appraised at $69,000.
However, there are options for non-profits.
“Fair market is required for a for-profit company, there is an ability to sell for less to non-profits … under the Municipal Government Act,” says Dagley. “We will see what proposals come forward.”
Requests for Proposals are open until November 16.
Meanwhile, Queens Daycare Association says they’ll be making a bid on the building.
They and the other tenants were given two years notice that they would have to vacate the building by June 2019.
However, Donna Dexter, chair of the association, says they’ve struggled to find a suitable home.
And because they don’t know what the future holds or where their next home is, it’s made it difficult to secure grants.
“We decided to put in a proposal because the space that we’re in now is the best space exisiting for us, it meets all of the regulations that we have to meet.”
The non-profit organization plans to ask the municipality to give them the building for one dollar.
Dexter says if they were able to take ownership, they’d also make moves to expand into toddler care, which would mean hiring additional employees.
“With the pre-primary program taking a number of our preschool aged children, it’s left space in our licensing capacity to take on other age groups.”
The daycare has 31 children right now and most of them are subsidized by the government.
The centre employs five people full time and three casuals.
Story by Brittany Wentzell
Twitter: @BrittWentzell
Email: wentzell.brittany@radioabl.ca
