Milestones being met for new nursing home; plans to explore sale of H.J. McFarland underway

Design brief look at the long term care building

Council learned the County’s long-term care home building milestones are being met, in progress toward meeting the final ‘approval to construct’ provincial deadline in November.

Council Tuesday night was told municipal staff will continue to work on the tendering package, which is to be released in August, and will prepare a report for the October council meeting, providing an update
and recommendation to award a construction contract.

Meanwhile, Adam Goheen, Housing Director, gained approval from council to direct staff to conduct an Expression of Interest process to explore opportunities for the re-use of the existing HJ McFarland Memorial Home site and report back in the fall. Council had previously heard suggestions the site could be used for affordable housing purposes but no final decisions or direction to staff have been made.

A suggested goal is to sell the building and property to defray costs.

Following comments from councillors, the green space there could be considered not for sale, or mandated to be kept green, and the County itself could also make an expression of interest to house various staff as a cost-savings measure.

CAO Marcia Wallace noted it could absolutely be used for staff disparate in offices and work areas all across the County, but it may not be seen as the highest and best use for the facility.

“This report really was generated listening to what council said; what the public said, when we brought the report in June, about the concern over the cost of this build, about how much will be on impact on the operating levy because of debt and how and whether or not we could handle that… given the other pressures we have in the budget.”

“The EOI submissions would be non-binding and would not form an agreement between a proponent and the municipality,” said Goheen in his report, “but would form the basis of a conversation between a proponent or group of proponents, the community, neighbouring residents and council about the best and highest use of the existing HJM site after the new build is completed and occupied. The EOI process may also identify ideal partnerships between proponents who operate in different spaces (housing and childcare, for example) and the County could then act as a facilitator to bring these parties together.”

A property appraisal completed in July 2024 indicated the current value of the 6.4 acre parcel the existing home sits is $4,200,000.

The HJ McFarland home was constructed in 1976, with an addition in 2006. Though well-maintained, it no longer meets provincial requirements. The province not only demands every municipality operate a long term care home, it also requires it be kept to standards.

During the 2024 capital budget discussions, the estimated $97 million, 160-bed project was approved conditionally on additional funding becoming available.

The provincial construction funding subsidy (CFS) is for projects that are shovel ready by the first week of November – having completed milestones of site plan approval, building permit approval, a tendered construction package, and confirmation of debt financing with Infrastructure Ontario.

Staff have met all the required milestones to date, or are on track to do so, reported Kyle Cotton, director, long-term care, Tuesday night.

“The timeline remains very aggressive, with multiple tasks running in parallel. Municipal staff are working on the site plan approvals and preparing the tender package to issue for six weeks from Aug. 23 to Oct. 4, 2024. Staff will recommend awarding the construction contract at the council meeting on Oct. 22, 2024.”

The County has been seeking more long-term care beds since 78 were lost with the closure of Picton Manor Nursing Home in 2012. Five years later, in 2019, the province promised to allow 76 more beds at the 84-bed municipally-owned home (currently H.J. McFarland Home).

The capital costs for the build are estimated at $94,700,000 ($83M construction and $11.7M furniture, fixtures and equipment).

After applying all the up-front funding sources such as the funding from the ministry and fundraising, the municipality will take out a loan for an estimated $80.5 million over 25 years – spreading payments over the same period as the funding is received from the province.

In May it was suggested the increase to the levy could be phased in leading up to 2027 occupancy to ease the tax burden. The increase would also coincide with the last payments of municipal support for the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital build.

Cotton noted that as part of the overall design, a feasibility study was undertaken to determine sustainable options that could be incorporated into the long-term care home’s design.

“The intent was to apply for the Federation Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Green Municipal Fund; however, the program has been recently discontinued for municipal long-term care homes. This was not initially made publicly known on the program website or materials, and so staff asked for a reconsideration for Prince Edward County given this change occurred after we began a feasibility study and had been in constant contact with the Green Municipal Fund staff however the eligibility change was not communicated to us.”

Reconsideration was denied by email in May.

Cotton said the building, however, will contain some sustainability options, including glazing and LED lighting and some design elements for future solar applications.

Cotton also presented a ‘project design brief’ submitted to the ministry as part of the working drawings package.

The main resident common areas, administration offices, staff, and facility areas are to be centrally located on the ground floor and connected by a “Main Street” space. Main Street is intended to be a destination and the home’s central hub. It is to be designed to greet visitors and bring residents together from all areas for programming. The building services, additional storage and a classroom are to be in the basement.

The exterior and grounds of the building are to connect to the outdoor spaces and other natural elements that would invite residents to the outdoors, allowing for participation in activities and programming on a barrier-free site with accessible walkways and pathways.