(rdnewsNOW)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

City council approves provincial EOI request for permanent shelter project

May 14, 2024 | 10:46 AM

Red Deer city council unanimously approved a motion Monday to seek a provincial Expression of Interest (EOI) in the long-awaited permanent shelter project.

An EOI from the province is expected to provide council and potential hosts for the facility with clarity on the purpose of and expectations for the shelter.

The lack of clarity on the desired scope of the shelter’s services has been a barrier for council as they have tried to find a location for the project.

READ: Fourth site for future permanent shelter no longer on table; focus placed on province

“We need to see a different lens, a different way of moving this issue through the community. For any order of government, the desired outcomes are the same,” said City Councillor Lawrence Lee. “Red Deer has made great strides in moving and identifying what it wants to see in terms of those outcomes, but at the end of the day we’re not the project managers on this and that’s clear.”

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Mayor Ken Johnston had met with Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, prior to the council meeting and broached the possibility of an EOI request. Although the minister seemed open to the idea, Johnston said Nixon made it clear that an EOI will merely help with council’s mission to find a location, not magically solve the problem.

There is currently no timeline on the EOI, but General Manager of Community Services, Sarah Tittemore, said past EOI’s she’s witnessed have taken the province six months to complete.

Johnston ended the discussion with an assertion that this decision doesn’t mean council is shirking the responsibility to someone else.

“This is not council taking a break on this issue,” he said. “My feet are singed right to the knee bones currently, and I don’t see the fire going away until we get this done.”

READ MORE:

• Council to discuss next step in permanent shelter saga
• Shelter gets 15-month extension as wait for permanent site drags into 2024
• Public hearing on temporary shelter adjourned, mum’s still the word on permanent one

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