Municipal Capital Borrowing Board rejects loan for 105 Moffatt Street
The acquisition of a needed municipal building is causing some financial headaches for the Town of Woodstock.
In May 2025, town officials heard that a 20,000-square-foot warehouse in the municipality’s industrial park was going to be put up for sale – again.
At the time, 105 Moffatt Street, formerly owned by Maritime Dimension Hardwoods Inc., and more recently occupied by Century Exteriors, had been on and off real estate listings for nearly two years, but a price drop was about to cause a bidding war, according to two local realtors.
At the June 26, 2025, council meeting, CAO Allan Walker told the mayor and councillors that the purchase was completed on June 16 and that the newly acquired building sitting on four acres of land would provide “potential operational space for Public Works and Utilities, alternative storage as we refurbish 824 Main Street, additional storage for the AYR Motor Centre needs, and potential alternative meeting or office space if needed.”
“There was no time to go to the borrowing board first,” Mayor Trina Jones told the River Valley Sun in August 2025, noting that town staff would be requesting a hearing. The town requested that the board approve a $796,000 loan after the purchase.
The River Valley Sun, through a Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RTIPPA) request to the Department of Environment and Local Government (ELG), has obtained correspondence between ELG and the town related to the building purchase.
In a letter to the borrowing board, Woodstock’s Director of Financial Services, Jennifer Crabbe, outlined the town’s case, hoping the board would overlook the municipality’s violation.
“We acknowledge the Town did not obtain prior borrowing approval from the Board before we purchased the building, and therefore, we are in violation of the Act. However, due to the timing of the property unexpectedly entering the market on May 13, 2025, and the Board’s submission deadlines of May 7, 2025, combined with the Town’s critical and immediate need for this facility, Council had to act quickly to secure the purchase.”
The borrowing board rejected the application, conveying its decision in a letter from ELG Deputy Minister and Municipal Capital Borrowing Board Chair, Charbel Awad, dated Oct. 24, 2025.
“As previously communicated, the Board has ultimately rejected this portion of the town’s application as the asset was purchased prior to obtaining authority from the Board, which is a violation of section 6(1) of the Municipal Capital Borrowing Board Act,” wrote Awad.
The board chair explained how the act works and then admonished the municipality for its lack of planning.
“It is important that local governments comply with applicable legislation. We strongly recommend that you develop a detailed capital expenditure plan of a minimum of five years and renewable every year. This will allow the town to be proactive and request borrowing in advance,” explained Awad. “As a reminder, ministerial orders are valid for 2 years, so the town is able to make a request to the MCBB for authority to borrow for items in advance, rather than directly before the purchase or acquisition is required.”
Awad ended his letter asking Crabbe to “please share this letter with your Mayor and Council.”
The letter may have been shared with the mayor and council, but not with the public.
There is no mention of the pending hearing, details from the hearing, or the board’s decision in any of the town’s council minutes from September 2025 to April 2026.
In August 2025, the town changed its correspondence policy, eliminating the past practice of reading every letter addressed to the mayor and council into the record and making it publicly available. The new correspondence policy states that “council retains discretion to determine the appropriate handling of correspondence, including whether or not to read it publicly, refer it to staff, or respond formally.”
The lack of financing for the Moffatt Street purchase was also not mentioned in any of the town’s financial reports, as Crabbe had verbally provided during the same months, nor was it referenced in public budget presentations made to the council in late 2025.
The River Valley Sun reached out to Mayor Trina Jones and CAO Allan Walker for comment.
In an emailed response, Jones said the council is awaiting its auditor’s advice on how to handle the new expenditure.
“I can share that the Finance Committee is awaiting final numbers from 2025 year-end and advice from the auditor in regard to how to best expense the cost of 105 Moffat in 2025, with the goal that it will not impact the 2026 budget and beyond,” Mayor Jones wrote. She added that the council will have a “significant surplus this year, as was planned due to funding provided from the province for the policing expansion thru reimbursement of RCMP fees.”
Jones said the purchase of 105 Moffat “would have been a good opportunity to utilize borrowing, if they’d have allowed the exception, so that we could keep growing our reserve funds.”
She also said the cost of 105 Moffat will be “divided in some manor between general and utility as both are taking advantage of it, as is the police expansion renovation as we had to move some operational space the fire department was using at 824 Main St to 105 Moffat. There should be no concern on funding the building, we are simply waiting for analyse on the absolute best way.”
Recently, the town shifted significant funds from two reserve accounts, moving $304,638.80 from the Police Capital Reserve Fund to the General Capital Fund. That was done during the town’s Feb. 10, 2026, meeting. A little more than a month later, during their March 24, 2026, council session, the town passed a motion based on a Finance Committee recommendation that they “reallocate $570,000 currently allocated to the future Fire Hall project to the 2026 Paving project,” and that the town “allocate $662,463 to support paving projects this year and that the balance of the $2.8M (from the Capital Investment Plan for Canada Community Building Fund) be put towards the building of a new fire hall.”
Last week, the River Valley Sun asked Mayor Jones and CAO Walker if the movement of these reserve funds is a direct result of the purchase of 105 Moffatt Street.
“On Wednesday or Thursday (of this week), we will be able to do a more thorough search of our minutes and council reports so that we can accurately and factually address your questions,” wrote CAO Walker in an email. “We appreciate your patience on this matter.”
John Pinsent is a former Woodstock CAO. The River Valley Sun asked him what kind of problems municipal staff would encounter in trying to find nearly $800,000 in a municipal budget.
“I don’t think that’s the issue,” said Pinsent. “You can find the money, and it looks like they have by shifting funds out of reserves, but at some point, you must answer for that. To me, this is more of a reputational and a transparency issue.”
Pinsent said the council is a decision-making body that requires resolutions to support its decisions.
“Regardless of whether people see them or not, you need everything supported by resolutions, because then you can say you’ve acted in good faith. And if you have nothing to hide, why wouldn’t you make a resolution? Table a letter? Be transparent?”
