By

Terry Fleurie


July 23, 2024

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Pembroke – The future of The Grind in Pembroke is, perhaps, in greater jeopardy than ever after city council voted last Tuesday night to reject its offer to purchase the building the operation is located in at 273 Victoria Street.

In a recorded vote, council voted 5-2 on a motion put forward by Councillor Troy Purcell to not accept The Grind’s offer to purchase the “old fire hall” building, despite Mayor Ron Gervais advising by not accepting the offer, council was essentially breaking the terms of the existing contract.

Deputy-Mayor Brian Abdallah and councillors Purcell, Pat Lafreniere, Ed Jacyno and Andrew Plummer voted to not accept the offer, with Mayor Gervais and Councillor Ian Kuehl voting to accept it.

The discussions began after CAO David Unrau told council the city had received written notice from The Grind’s solicitor on April 4 indicating they wished to exercise their right to purchase a portion of the building with five parking spaces for the price of $210,000 as per the conditions of their existing lease agreement from June 2020.

That lease states The Grind could purchase the building portion at the expiration of the lease on June 30, 2025, or at any time during the term of the lease. In his background report, Mr. Unrau said the city had received complaints from some of the surrounding residents of The Grind, involving noise, hours of operation, vandalism, smoking, garbage, etc. He explained a legal opinion was sought from Tony Fleming (the city’s solicitor) regarding what criteria defined a “nuisance” under the court system. The solicitor advised the character of the neighbourhood, which was currently residential, commercial, and institutional, had to be considered.

“The patrons may be in the vicinity to visit The Grind, but without a more casual connection it’s unlikely that a court would consider the behaviour to be unreasonable conduct attributable to The Grind which is an essential element to the finding of a nuisance,” Mr. Fleming wrote. 

Mr. Unrau noted under the lease, The Grind can make an offer to purchase or choose to vacate.

“The homeless and substance landscape has changed in the last six months, and expectations are over the next year, there will be more support locally and provincially, and different programs provided,” Mr. Unrau noted. “There has been an increase to the vulnerable population in the City of Pembroke and more agencies are engaged in discussions in creating solutions.

“Over the past six months, there has been more collaboration and more meetings between the City of Pembroke and relevant agencies, than has taken place over the entire existence of the lease terms,” he added. “These other agencies have brought forward significantly more resources beyond that of The Grind or the City of Pembroke.”

He said the Renfrew County District Health Unit (RCDHU) has created a community-wide substance abuse strategy and had created a steering committee with four working groups covering prevention, harm reduction, treatment and community safety. He added the County of Renfrew launched the mesa program whereby paramedics provide care in the community through connections with other agencies.

Mr. Unrau advised council the options it had were; to accept the offer; renegotiate the lease;  (which can be done at any time) or not accept the offer, which could possibly have legal implications. He noted the sale would be made based on the appraisal done in June 2020 at $210,000.

No Support of Sale

At that point, Mayor Gervais entered a motion to accept the offer from The Grind to purchase which fulfilled the contractual obligations of the lease. When no one seconded the motion, Coun. Purcell entered a motion to not sell the building and to not extend the lease agreement.                

His motion was seconded by Coun. Plummer.

Coun. Lafreniere said she would not support the second motion with both items, suggesting they be separated to deal with the sale and then the extension of the lease, which council agreed to do.

Mayor Gervais made a case to accept the sale of the building, providing a history of how The Grind ended up at the old fire hall. He said it was previously located on Pembroke Street but there were complaints from some individuals that “it should not be on the main drag or in a commercial area”. He said council was supportive of the project then and even passed a rezoning by-law to allow them to have four beds. Later, he said, when the former fire hall became available, a town hall meeting was held to discuss moving The Grind, saying some were in favour of the mandate and the location, others were in favour of the mandate and not the location, and some not in favour of either.

After taking everything into consideration, council entered into a lease with The Grind that contained the provision to purchase, which they were exercising. He noted The Grind has spent thousands of dollars improving the location.

“Some things don’t change; the situation is the same as it was before, that some prefer and like the mandate of The Grind and don’t have an issue with it being there,” he said. “There’s some that are in favour of the mandate and say ‘no, not there’, and there’s those, quite frankly, who wouldn’t want The Grind to be anywhere.”

Over the last few days and weeks he said he has spoken to numerous individuals, some for, some against, adding some people have gone so far as to say the OATC (Ontario Addiction Treatment Centre) should be removed from the city, no one should receive support and all these individuals would disappear.  

“I have yet to hear them say the Pembroke Regional Hospital should be closed because, let’s face it, the Pembroke Regional Hospital treats individuals with addictions, counselling, and so forth,” he remarked. “They have yet to say the Renfrew District Health Unit should be removed from our downtown, as many people should know it was re-located from the County of Renfrew building to downtown and I’m not sure everyone knows, but it serves harm reduction supplies to various individuals, including needles and pipes.

“I’ve yet to also hear of individuals wanting to close the transitional housing now going to be located at the Carefor Centre on McKay Street, which again is putting individuals in proximity with other residents,” he added. “But I’m yet to hear them wanting to close that, but maybe that is to come.”

Breaking The Law

Mayor Gervais concluded his presentation by saying whether one supported The Grind or not, the city has a lease/contract with the group.

“And frankly, for the council not to proceed with that, is breaking the law,” he stated. “And I question the individuals who wish to break the law.”

He said the city had already paid money to do an appraisal on the property, which he believed indicated the previous council of the day intended to fulfill its obligations to that contract.

“If council doesn’t want to honour contractual obligations, to me, it goes further than this particular matter. If I happen to be a contractor wanting to deal with the City of Pembroke, I have to seriously question if things go awry, do I not proceed with the contract?

“Frankly, is the City of Pembroke going to abide by its contractual obligations in any contract?”

Mayor Gervais said council could debate the value of The Grind all night long, but he distilled the matter down to contractual rights, which The Grind is exercising, and the city is not accepting their offer. As for re-negotiating the contract, he believes The Grind’s solicitor has indicated they are not interested in doing that.  

“I seriously question the City of Pembroke, whether or not it actually wants to oblige by any obligations regarding The Grind, Pembroke,” he said.

Takes Exception To Comments

Coun. Purcell said it’s not that people don’t value some of the services provided by The Grind.

“The big problem is that it is causing a bit of disruption in the area that it is located in,” he remarked.

He agreed it had been re-located from downtown, adding the landscape has changed quite a bit, noting the mesa program now exists which has paramedics going out in the community to where the problems exist.       

“They don’t have to congregate in one area,” he stated.

He cited the fact the county recently announced the bridge housing initiative, which is to house people with addiction, mental health and homelessness issues, while providing wrap-around support services. 

“So now, we’re going to have an area that is supported by the county on McKay Street, and now we’re going to have an area that is supporting individuals at the fire hall, causing disruptions to the residents, the library, the seniors centre.” 

 Coun. Purcel said he has letters from the Pembroke Business Improvement Association (PBIA) and some downtown merchants claiming the area is struggling and the city cannot continue to support these programs.

“It needs to be under the mesa umbrella,” he remarked. “So, it’s really important that we work towards a solution to this.

“It’s not about dissolving The Grind. It’s just saying, there’s some value in terms of that property, and I don’t feel it’s worthwhile selling.

“The other thing too, what I’m really pissed off about is that I wasn’t on council last term and you hogtied my hands and Councillor Kuehl’s hands,” he added.

Coun. Jacyno, who was chairing this portion of the meeting, reminded Coun. Purcell to contain his comments to what was happening currently.    

“The mayor provided some background; I’m providing some background as well,” Coun. Purcell responded, adjusting his earlier comment to his being “ticked off”.

“Ther reason I was ticked off is because I don’t have an opportunity,” he began. “And you look at that lease. Shame on that lease. That lease is a terrible lease.”

He cited another lease to be discussed later in the meeting he estimated was 30 to 40 pages long, while The Grind lease was two or three pages.

“And I don’t have a say because it’s written as a contract. So, the previous council made a decision on behalf of this council. That’s not right.

Deputy Mayor Brian Abdallah said he did not support the location or the lease four years ago, because he had concerns about the neighbourhood and the proximity to the library, daycare centre and school, and the active living centre.      

“I said the whole challenge of drug addiction, mental health, and homelessness were bigger than The Grind and that a community-wide symposium was needed involving representatives and stakeholders from healthcare, law enforcement services, social services, and local government to address these issues and develop a plan under one roof versus different silos,” he said.

He said the current location for The Grind is not the right fit for the neighbourhood, saying there has been too many inappropriate behaviours and it’s not safe for the vulnerable, the clients or the residents.    

Dpty-Mayor Abdallah said a member from The Grind must be part of the solution so they can continue to do the good work they do, but at a different location.

“Compassion and caring are what our community has shown and shall continue to model as we work in harmony to address and conquer homelessness, drug addiction and mental health,” he concluded. “We need the assistance of the province.”

Conflicting Opinions

Coun. Lafreniere admitted she has very conflicting opinions on the options available to council, adding she understands the legal ramifications.

“I’m really disappointed with the agreement that came forward four years ago and the fact that nobody around this table caught the fact the city didn’t have an option. The option would be that The Grind could buy it and we wouldn’t have an option to say whether they could or not.”

She supported The Grind going to its present location, noting the Salvation Army left the city and The Grind ‘picked up the torch and ran with it”.

“They provided us with a service,” she noted.  

She said when they were looking to leave downtown, numerous options were looked at and the old fire hall was empty and council re-located it there. She said when The Grind opened a warming centre the complaints started, so a new warming centre was opened last year.

While she does not want to sell the building, she does not want to see The Grind without a home, adding she would like it to stay there temporarily, until a more suitable location can be found.

“I just really think it’s not the time to pull the rug out completely.”

Coun. Lafreniere said she is hopeful a new agreement could be struck.

Await The Grind’s Response

In the record vote, council rejected the offer of purchase. However, council then agreed to table the motion to not re-negotiate the lease based on a recommendation from Mr. Unrau. He suggested it be tabled until such time that a representative of The Grind indicates they would like to pursue that option prior to the lease ending June 30, 2025.

The Grind officials to determine next steps as city rejects purchase offer

Pembroke – “Very disappointing” is how Jerry Novack, the executive director of The Grind, described last Tuesday’s decision by Pembroke council to not honour the terms of its lease agreement with the organization by rejecting The Grind’s offer to purchase the building they are currently housed in. 

After watching the live stream of the meeting while holidaying in Virginia, he said his disappointment stems from the fact it was the city who offered the current building to The Grind when it was being relocated from downtown.

“They drafted the lease agreement, they set the price at $210,000. They set the terms of that lease, which we agreed to,” he explained. “And we put thousands of dollars into this building to provide a service for the community and we find out Tuesday night they’re going to renege on this agreement we have with them.”                                                                                     

Mr. Novack said after The Grind’s solicitor notified the city in April of their offer to purchase, the city never sat down with The Grind officials to discuss the lease or what the city’s plans were or are for the building.

“We were just told that it was coming up for discussion on Tuesday night,” he said. “So, it’s a hard one to navigate through and to know what direction they are going in.

“What the future holds, I don’t know yet,” he added.

Under the lease, he said The Grind could offer to purchase the building for the appraised value of $210,000, adding there was no provision to renegotiate the lease.

“It was a five-year term and the only option was to purchase or we leave,” he said. “It was obvious from the meeting Tuesday night that they don’t want to sell the building to us and some councillors don’t even want to renew a lease.

“That’s going to put us in a very difficult situation,” he added.                                               

 Mr. Novack commended Mayor Ron Gervais for taking a stand and sharing the facts on how the situation got to where it is, noting it was the city that initiated the agreement and everyone agreed to it. 

“I applaud him but as for the other comments that were made, it was tough to listen to councillors – not one of them really spoke about any of the good work we’re doing.

“What we’re doing is providing a service to the community, and that’s what we do,” he continued. “They could not say one positive thing, but fortunately for us we continue to do this great work of providing meals and supports.”

He noted numerous agencies provide additional support through The Grind, which Mayor Gervais witnessed firsthand during a recent visit.

 “When he was there, mesa was involved with someone in one of the offices, a mental health worker was involved with a client. It was a very busy time when he came through, and we had the lunch period too.

“Good things are happening and we need to keep moving in that direction,” he remarked.

Mr. Novack said while members of council referred to other programs like mesa, bridge housing, and work of the Renfrew County District Health Unit, he hasn’t been part of any meetings with those organizations to know what their impact might be.

“They refer to a report, I’ve never seen a report from mesa, so it’s hard to comment on some of the comments they were making.”

He believes council was trying to justify its decision not to sell by implying these new programs would address the services The Grind provides.

“I know from what we’re doing and what we’re seeing on the ground, and with the increase in opioid deaths and homelessness, right now we’re really just trying to fill those gaps. There are so many people that really need help.

“If there’s this plan out there, we’re not aware of it, if it’s a plan to replace what we provide,” he added.        

He noted he doesn’t understand how a transitional bed would replace what The Grind is offering.

“Because we’re not a shelter,” he stressed.

Mr. Novack said council has put the ball in The Grind’s court regarding any re-negotiations of the lease at the meeting.

“That’s really the first time we heard that. They’ve never approached us formally. There’s always been these comments, but that’s not part of our lease agreement.

“We have a lease agreement with the City of Pembroke and we have followed that and invested a lot of time and money, and we really want to be able to provide service.” 

He found it very concerning while listening to the meeting that council referred to the neighbours, the 50-plus club, and the downtown, but they never spoke about the clients The Grind serves.

“They don’t meet with them; they don’t talk to them. At least I’m not aware of it. For us, they need to be a little better informed to make these decisions, because it’s going to impact a sector of our community in a way that I don’t know they’re ready for.”

He saw Councillor Troy Purcell’s criticism of the previous council’s work on the lease agreement as just another way of justifying council’s decision not to sell.

“They don’t want us there,” he said very matter-of-factly. “If they don’t want us in that location, then what is the city’s plan, other than shutting us down, to find a better solution? And they’re not doing that and they’re hoping the issues will go away.”

Mr. Novack said he hears the comments regularly that if the service wasn’t being offered, the individuals would not be in the city. However, he said every similar sized city is dealing with identical situations.

“It’s not only a Pembroke issue,” he said.

He plans to meet withThe Grind’s board and its lawyer about what steps can be taken moving forward.

“There’s some big decisions that have to be made,” he remarked, noting taking legal action against the city for not honouring the lease by declining the purchase offer, is one possibility. 

His comments were echoed by the chair of the board, Deacon Adrien Chaput.    

 “City council’s decision to refuse to sell to us is extremely disappointing,” he said. “But helping people in need remains our day-to-day concern. Whatever actions council might take, we remain committed to welcoming people in need, directly helping them, and introducing them to the longer-term support of agencies that can assist them in turning a corner in their lives.”

Started In 2016

The Grind has been helping people in need since 2016 when it started as a coffee house in Pembroke’s downtown. When the Salvation Army left town, The Grind took over providing daily meals for the vulnerable, in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul. The Grind slowly grew to the point where agencies and professionals, including a medical doctor and other medical professionals, now come to facility on a regular basis. The Grind has established a high level of trust with those they serve, which enables the agency to give them and direct them to the help they need.

According to Mr. Novack, The Grind has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars from private donors and obtained numerous government grants. Those funds have turned 273 Victoria Street from an abandoned fire hall into an agency that directly helps people in need, and also serves as a community hub for agencies like the Renfrew County Paramedic Service, Ontario Works and Community Mental Health.

“We are so grateful to our donors and the provincial and federal governments that have granted us funds to develop this agency’s infrastructure,” the retired OPP Officer stated. “And we will do everything needed to ensure those donations and the taxpayer-funded grants we obtained will continue to help people in need.”