John Ottenheimer, chair of the board and CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC), sees the move as a fresh start.
On Feb. 24, NLHC informed the board of Westrock Community Centre Inc. that it would be terminating its relationship with them as of March 31. Its intention is to operate the centre under the new entity of Vine Place Community Centre Inc.
Ottenheimer likens the change to being no different than a landlord-tenant relationship that ends, but on a bigger scale.
Right now NLHC has put a transitional board, made up of several employees of the corporation, in place to oversee the transition. After the end of this week, the corporation will take steps to put in place a new board. Under the corporation’s constitution, the new board can have a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 16 members, which Ottenheimer says will be a combination of “tenants and interested and community minded individuals within the City of Corner Brook.”
Ottenheimer said NLHC will work with the transitional board to fill the new board.
“(We want) to really put together what will hopefully be a very sound and strong group of individuals, community minded and who will see it as a sense of priority and importance that this centre conduct its affairs in the appropriate way,” Ottenheimer said.
The board won’t be the only change. The centre will also see some new faces among its staff. NLHC is in the process of completing hiring for the new centre, and Ottenheimer said the approximately 12 employees will include a mix of current Westrock staff and some new hires.
It will be up to the new board and the staff to ensure the transfer from one group to the next goes smoothly, that programming continues and that the assets — some of which are owned by Westrock and may be removed from the centre — needed for programs and activities are in place.
In terms of programming, Ottenheimer sees the change as an opportunity to continue existing programming, and also to explore new ideas.
“With a fresh start, there may be in fact new programs and new activities that up to this date have not been part of the overall programming of Westrock.”
He’s not concerned about buy-in from the community. Other than media inquiries, he said there has been no negative response to the change. That’s despite postings on the Westrock Community Centre’s Facebook page and an attempt by the board to halt the termination of the agreement.
Once the change takes place, Ottenheimer said there are plans to engage the community, including an open house.
As for the possibility of any other action against Westrock, Ottenheimer said it’s not the corporation’s intent at this time.
“We have a management and an ownership responsibility to maintain,” he said. “The new board, similarly, has a governance issue that it has to respect, and from our point of view we see this as the termination of a contract and this is a fresh start.”
