(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Call for privately owned sites

Red Deer shelter site selection process moves to next phase

Jul 19, 2022 | 11:31 AM

The next phase in the search for a permanent shelter in Red Deer is a technical review of potential sites, according to City administration.

Presented as information to city council at Monday’s meeting, administration says they created the next steps in the process reflecting council’s policy direction which was developed and approved during their June 24, 27 and July 4 meetings.

The City confirms two of the five phases of the site selection process are complete; including:

• Phase 1: Public Engagement; and
• Phase 2: Policy Direction to inform Process Design.

The remaining three phases that are expected to lead up to a final site decision on August 29 includes the following:

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Phase 3: Technical Review & Assessment Phase:

• July 13 – 22: commercial realtor to conduct site search. The City states two meetings were held the week of July 11 to 15 with the commercial realtor. The first was with members of administration to provide information on the site selection process and the approved matrix. The second meeting was with Mayor Ken Johnston and Deputy Mayor Lee to provide further council perspective.
• July 22 – 25: initial technical assessment conducted by administration prior to site visits
• July 25 – August 5: site visits and enhanced technical review of short-listed sites

Phase 4: City Council Review

• August 15: City council meeting: administrative recommendation of sites based on city council’s policy direction through the development of its matrix.
• August 15 – 21: Additional administrative technical review of additional sites (if directed by council)
• August 21 – 26: City council review and evaluation using their site evaluation matrix approved on July 4, 2022.

Phase 5: Site Decision

• August 29: Council to make final decision about the future shelter site at their regular meeting using the site selection matrix as one element of the decision.

Additionally, during Phase 3, administration says they will put out a call for privately owned sites, through The City’s website. They say this call is to see if there are any privately owned sites that are not yet on the market, but that property owners might be interested in selling for the purposes of an integrated shelter. More information about this will be released in the coming days.

For more information on the shelter process, visit www.reddeer.ca/shelter. Residents can also sign up for regular email updates. If members of the public have questions or concerns, they can email shelter@reddeer.ca.

To see the full shelter report presented to council during their regular meeting, read the July 18 agenda.