(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

city to search for new site

Council denies another extension for temporary shelter, new report coming

Jun 22, 2021 | 6:45 AM

Red Deer city council has voted not to grant another extension for Red Deer’s temporary emergency shelter as the saga over what to do until the province builds a permanent facility continues.

Several discussions have taken place since the end of March about its future, and the overall future of shelter services in Red Deer.

The province has promised $7 million for a permanent integrated shelter, but the City’s understanding is that it won’t be up and running for between one to three years.

The operating permit for the current temporary shelter operated by Safe Harbour in the Cannery Row building was set to expire March 31. Council extended the permit until the end of May with hopes of finding an alternate site.

Administration told council last month that finding a new location would happen as quickly as they were asking.

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Council was given the option to extend the permit for another year through May 31, 2022, but opted for an extra four-month run through September 30, 2021.

Admin put out an open call out to property owners who may be interested in leasing their building for the purpose of a temporary shelter.

Acting City Manager Tara Lodewyk told council the response to the call was poor.

“I was very surprised we only had one response to that call; when you hear in the community that vacancy rates are high and people are looking for tenants, then we do a call and we don’t have a response. One of the factors we heard is the temporary nature of it. Landowners like to see a three to five year lease, and we were looking for short term,” Lodewyk said. “(Otherwise) it doesn’t compute for me. It’s speculation, but I don’t know if it’s a NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) thing, but it does concern me as to why we’re not getting a response.”

Lodewyk said staff worked with a commercial realtor on the matter, but the end result was fruitless with one exception: Cannery Row willing to remain the shelter’s home. That’s where it’s been since March 2020 when the province provided funding for it to expand from Safe Harbour’s home base down the street, this as the COVID-19 pandemic was only just beginning.

Lodewyk said another call out was possible, but timelines are tight.

Also in May when the four-month extension was given, council approved funding to implement several mitigation measures at Cannery Row, including taller fencing, lighting, security cameras and personnel, increased clean team work, and community liaisons. Some of that, such as the fencing, is still being put in place as the City awaited the results of a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) assessment.

Monday, admin asked council to once again extend given the lack of response and potential for unintended consequences if shelter service is no more.

On a 5-3 vote, the motion was defeated, with Mayor Tara Veer, and councillors Ken Johnston and Lawrence Lee in favour.

Then, on a 6-2 vote (Johnston and Lee dissenting), council voted, in principle, in favour of a non-recommended option to look at purchasing land for a temporary shelter.

Prior to the vote, Councillor Dianne Wyntjes said she felt ethically challenged after previously voting against a longer extension in the name of supporting the frustrated business community.

“It’s a reversal to what I committed to before; it’s inconsistent. No wonder people get frustrated with elected officials when they switch their words,” she remarked. “I’m concerned that if we pursue the temporary zoning, we lose momentum of the downtown activity we’re seeing.”

Wyntjes noted she would however support an extension until the spring if it meant being better able to measure the impacts of mitigation measures.

Johnston harkened back to the start of the day’s meeting which focused on reconciliation and it being National Indigenous Peoples Day.

He noted that according to the most recent Red Deer Point in Time Homeless Count (2018), 40 per cent of those without a stable roof over their head in the city are Indigenous. Yet the most recent federal census (2016) showed just 5.3 per cent of Red Deer’s population is Indigenous.

Johnston surmised it would be somewhat contradictory of council to state what it had and then not take those statistics into strong consideration when making this shelter decision, especially noting the occasion.

“Councillor (Buck) Buchanan picked up on the point saying he’s not prepared to tell the business community another three years, and that’s a fair statement,” said Mayor Veer. “By saying we’re not prepared to make it another three years, are we prepared to live the next three years with rough sleeper camps that we know will occur? Are we prepared for the spill-over? I’m not prepared to do that.”

Administration will bring a report to council with options for the purchase of land to locate a temporary shelter.