It was a shock to Puslinch councillors to discover the Badenoch Community Centre is owned by Wellington County.
In recent months, council had offered the property to the Badenoch Community Centre Board.
However, the board asked to continue its current lease arrangement with the township until 2026.
In an update to council on July 19, Puslinch CAO Karen Landry explained a title research revealed the property was transferred to the county in 1945, long before the school closed or was converted into a community centre.
“In terms of the research in preparing the report, I decided to confirm ownership of the actual property,” said Landry.
In receiving the title search information, “upon a preliminary review … it came out that the County of Wellington is the actual owner of the property.”
Landry then liaised with Wellington County’s solicitor “to look at the documentation from the Land Registry Office to make determination with respect to ownership of the land.”
Landry said the county solicitor confirmed the lands are owned by the county.
“For council’s information, when looking at the abstract information, the lands were actually transferred to the county in 1945,” she said. “At this point this is in the county’s hands.”
Mayor Dennis Lever stated, “So here is the boat we’ve found ourselves in. It’s a significant surprise to everyone involved.”
Lever said there is additional work going on to determine how this happened.
“It’s premature to say what the outcome is going to be,” he added.
Councillor Ken Roth agreed there is no point proceeding on the matter until there is more information.
“We’ve had an agreement for a long time for a building we don’t own,” he said.
Lever added the township has also invested significant money in the building over the years.
Councillor Matthew Bulmer called the situation “quite fascinating.”
Landry said the abstract states the property was in the name of Black, who transferred the property to the county.
(In 1945, Wellington County purchased a tract of land from William H. Black as part of its reforestation efforts.)
“I see (the county) owns the entire parcel of land except a corner piece where the township was transferred title from the Badenoch baseball club. That is the only piece in the township’s name,” said Landry.
The abstract and title show the remainder belongs to the county, she added.
Councillor Susan Fielding said her understanding is the agreements had always been between the township and the Badenoch Community Centre board.
Landry said she started the investigation because the township had relied on MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation)information on file.
“But when we looked at the mapping, it wasn’t exactly lining up. The deed did not exist at the office, which is why I undertook the title search,” Landry explained.
Due to the ownership revelation, Lever said the matter appears to be in the hands of the county.
