The municipality of Summerland will enter into a new 25-year lease agreement with the Harold Simpson Memorial Youth Centre.
Under the terms of the new agreement, the lease rate will be $1 a year for the next 25 years.
The municipality has leased the property at 9111 Peach Orchard Rd. to the Summerland Youth Centre Association since 1993.
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The building has been opened since 1994 and is used by numerous groups and organizations in the community.
Among those using the building are the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club, the 902 Nighthawk Air Cadets, the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides and summer youth programs.
Adult groups including the Kinsmen, the K40 and others use the facility, as to the Material Girls quilters, a volleyball group and others.
The lease expired Sept. 30, 2018 and since that time a month-to-month agreement has been in place.
However, when the Summerland Youth Centre Association is seeking grant funding, a long-term lease of 10 years or more is a common requirement.
While the lease contains a renewal option, the parcel of land now contains the old skatepark, an area leased to Summerland Builders Mart and a fenced area used by the municipality to store materials and equipment.
In addition, the existing lease agreement does not contain some of the legal protections now considered standard for such agreements.
The Summerland Youth Centre Association receives an annual operating grant of $5,500 and an annual property tax exemption for the building estimated at $10,000.
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