(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Alessia Proietti

Target date for site selection: September 12

Permanent shelter site locations narrowed down to eight

Aug 17, 2022 | 9:45 AM

Red Deer city council now has eight potential permanent shelter sites on the table after an in-camera session at Monday’s meeting.

On July 18, council entered Phase 3 of its Integrated Shelter Site Selection Process involving a detailed technical review and analysis of potential sites using their Site Evaluation Matrix.

Until August 10, council looked at 96 sites, with 50 sites recommended by commercial realtors, five unlisted sites recommended by commercial realtors, 13 city or provincially-owned lands, 22 publicly recommended sites, and six put forward during a public call for sites.

READ: City council to discuss 12 potential shelter sites in closed meeting

The list was narrowed down to 12 sites which were discussed on Monday. Detailed information on the exact locations of the sites is still unavailable for public sharing; however, eight sites were located in the downtown area and four were located in the north end.

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Corporate Communications Manager Tara Shand confirmed that in-camera, 10 sites were removed from the list and six new ones were added, for a new total of eight potential shelter sites.

“We will continue to do our very best to be as transparent as possible with the public and as soon as we can share information about sites, we will do so,” said Shand.

While the initial target date was earmarked for August 29 for council to select a site to recommend to the province, council will now use that meeting for an in-camera discussion and technical analysis of the six new sites using their own evaluation matrix. The new target date to select a site is September 12.