Increase of $9 million approved for Coby Wellness Centre
City council has approved a $9-million increase to the Summit Wellness Centre construction budget, bringing the total cost to about $25.5 million.
The project was approved at $16.5 million in 2025.
In a report to council, city staff said an increase is needed due to several factors, including expanded project scope, higher-than-expected construction costs and inflation, as well as government grant applications that were not approved.
To help offset the additional costs, council also approved an additional $1.86 million in debenture financing, bringing total debenture funding for the project to $18.36 million. Development charge funding will also increase to about $7.14 million under the revised financing plan.
Construction on the Summit Wellness Centre is nearing completion, with the facility expected to open this summer. The centre will serve as a health and community hub for Coboconk and the surrounding area.
What grant applications weren’t approved? What dollar amount? Why not approved?
What is the “expanded project scope?”
How much is that costing?
What “higher than expected construction costs”?
Surely inflation was factored into the original cost? What extra dollar amount is being added for that?
A $9million increase in one year is huge and requires a detailed explanation for the taxpayers.
These are important questions that need to be answered in detail and why is the public only being advised now, although many expected incompetent project management, but not not to this degree – 9 million overage on a 16.5 million project
The City of Kawartha Lakes is becoming increasingly entangled in the Ontario healthcare crisis. Local property tax revenue is being diverted to fill gaps left by the provincial system—specifically in doctor recruitment and, more recently, the bricks-and-mortar of medical facilities.
I am not inherently opposed to the municipality owning and operating Municipal Medical Centres. In many ways, they are as vital to a healthy community as our arenas, community centres, and fire stations. However, the current financial model is flawed. The cost of these centres should be Area Rated—assessed to the specific communities that benefit from them—rather than being levied against all taxpayers across the City.
The Need for a Strategic Approach
The City’s current involvement in Omemee and Coboconk feels like an “accidental” stakeholdership. We have moved from supporting community-led initiatives to becoming a primary financier in an ad hoc fashion. It is high time the City:
Conducts a Needs Study: Determine exactly where the gaps in primary care infrastructure exist.
Develops a Master Plan: Create a roadmap for providing Municipal Medical Centres across the entire City.
Builds a Business Case: Move away from reactive spending toward a sustainable, long-term strategy.
Recruitment vs. Fairness
Providing turnkey, municipally-owned facilities is a powerful tool for attracting doctors. In rural Ontario, offering ready-to-use medical spaces or waived rent is often the only way to compete for family physicians. While this is a necessary response to the provincial shortage, we must address the “who pays” question.
Currently, the 25–30% of taxpayers in urban hubs like Lindsay, Fenelon Falls, and Bobcaygeon are contributing to facilities that do not serve their immediate neighborhoods. If we are to treat medical centres as community assets similar to local improvements, the costs must be area-rated.
If a community receives the direct benefit of a local medical hub, the local tax base should support it. We need a fair, transparent, and planned approach to healthcare infrastructure—one that recruits doctors without unfairly subsidizing specific regions of the City at the expense of others.
where are the doctors coming from for this over budget project? there are none in Lindsay or surrounding area.