Address change will cost thousands
Alzheimer Society would be left to cover the bill for reprinting pamphlets and more should councillors approve decision to rename road
Regional staff have recommended that businesses and residents should not be compensated for renaming a portion of Champlain Avenue, in yellow and black, which will soon become Stellar Drive, stretching between Whitby and Oshawa, shown in red. The Alzheimer Society of Durham Region says this move will leave it forking out thousands of dollars to reprint its brochures and literature, taking money away from the services it provides. (Graphic courtesy of the Region of Durham).
By Graeme McNaughton/The Oshawa Express
The Alzheimer Society of Durham Region is being left to pay the bill for a decision made by the Region of Durham.
According to a report included with the May 19 council information package, regional staff has opted to go ahead with the renaming of a stretch of Champlain Avenue in Whitby as part of the construction of a new east-west road between Thickson Road in Whitby and Thornton Road in Oshawa.
The new road, running north of Consumers Drive, would be dubbed Stellar Drive. As a result, businesses on the part of Champlain that will be renamed will be getting new addresses. And because of that name change, businesses are being left to pay for any changes that come from that.
And for the Alzheimer Society, that change is looking to cost thousands of dollars – something that Denyse Newton, the society’s executive director, says the non-profit should not be forced to cover.
“We have to come up with the money that it’s going to cost us to reprint everything that we have out in the community, rebrand everything that we’ve got here, and…the money we have to take to do that comes out of client service budget,” she says.
“This is an unexpected cost.”
Newton initially delivered a delegation to regional council in the fall after first becoming aware of the name change after seeing an ad in the newspaper, having not been notified by the region that such a change was in the pipeline.
After providing documentation to the region on just how expensive the change would be, Newton says she was unaware a decision had even been made until contacted by The Oshawa Express.
“They requested a cost summary from us and we provided that to them back in the fall. There was no discussions about them not providing any type of compensation. We basically sent the cost analysis to them last fall, and I followed up two or three times to see what was happening. I had a response, but it was just that they were working on it, and then the next thing, I got your email,” she says.
“There’s been no attempt by the region to understand our unique situation.”
According to the regional report, other municipalities offer anywhere from $75 to $300 in compensation for changes to street names; however, many offer no compensation at all.
Newton says she expects the address change for the Alzheimer Society’s headquarters to cost at least $8,000, as the non-profit will have to reprint all of its educational material and pamphlets, which contain the old address.
Over the next two weeks, Newton says she plans to speak with councillors directly about what the Alzheimer Society is facing in an effort to get them to reject staff’s recommendation.
“I’m going to educate them better. Certainly, the report…doesn’t provide any information specific to the Alzheimer Society and why our situation is unique. You read the report, and…they just talk about basically the cost to go to Canada Post and change your address. It’s so much more than that,” she says.
“Hopefully, they will do the right thing and not accept the report.”
Newton says she plans to deliver a delegation at the next meeting of committee of the whole, slated for June 7.