By rdnewsNOW Staff

Deadline to pick location: July 18

Public participation to begin about permanent shelter site criteria

May 10, 2022 | 11:06 AM

Within the next month, the community will have an opportunity to share their input on the site criteria for a future permanent shelter site with a summer deadline for Red Deer city council to choose a location.

Council approved this direction during their Monday meeting, following extensive conversations around roles and responsibilities and opportunity for collaboration outside a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the province.

Administration says they will begin a public participation strategy and implementation within the coming weeks. The following deadlines include:

• June 20, 2022: conduct timely, strategic, solution-focused community engagement about site criteria prior to this date. Strategies promoted will include in-person and online opportunities to provide input.
• July 18, 2022: Council to agree to a location to recommend to the Province on or before this date.

“We are beginning public participation based on the understanding our community wants to help us to address shelter needs. We are starting with a clean slate when it comes to actual location,” said Interim City Manager Tara Lodewyk. “We recognize that some citizens will want to propose specific locations but we want to dig deeper to understand why. We will be asking further questions – why do they think that site is a good option, what does it have that would make it the right place and see how that aligns or builds upon the criteria we already have in place.”

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On April 11, administration was given an additional four weeks to complete an engagement plan for the permanent shelter project.

As the final decision for a location must be approved by the provincial government, administration recommended a provincially-led public participation program rather than a city-led program which they estimated would extend until September 2022.

READ: Red Deer city council to consider public engagement strategy for permanent shelter

Councillor Vesna Higham, however, did not agree with the project being postponed until the fall.

“The question is this: why would the province be motivated to spend their budget dollars on meaningful consultation with our public when they’ve expressed on repeated occasions over the past few years that they look to Red Deer’s elected council to reflect the will of the community respecting this or any other issue?,” asked Councillor Higham.

Proposing an amendment that would combine the two recommendations by administration, Councillor Higham suggested a city-led public participation program that would include some in-person and other virtual engagements with the set deadlines for council to make a decision. She also proposed administration to create brief reports on previous permanent shelter information discussed, including the Riverside Drive location, for public review.

“While site selection is not part of the formal agreement between The City and the Province, we believe that the Province will support a recommendation in good spirit as part of a shared responsibility to providing shelter services in our community,” said Mayor Ken Johnston. “When citizens come to the table to discuss criteria, we ask that they come with an open mind. Consider all the factors in selecting a location, not just proximity to your home, your business, your property. The permanent shelter will not be what we currently have, it will be an integrated shelter for our vulnerable population to access services that will support them on their journey to permanent housing.”

In the coming weeks, The City will share public participation opportunities with the community through social media, local advertising, website updates and email notifications.

If residents would like to be added to the email list for updates on the public participation and general permanent shelter information, email shelter@reddeer.ca.

More information about the permanent shelter process can be found at www.reddeer.ca/shelter.