A $3.6-million supportive housing project, that would be one component of the three-phase Building Hope community hub envisioned for Queen Street, could be in jeopardy.
Proponents of Building Hope made an impassioned plea for support at Monday night’s council meeting. As part of a 30-minute presentation, Glenn Wagner, chair of both the Lighthouse Soup Kitchen and Shelter and Building Hope advisory group, and Linda Goodall, executive director of the Lighthouse, informed council about the “dire” status of the current shelter and their plans to build a larger $6-million facility that would allow it to accommodate women and families.
However, while a fund-raising campaign for that facility has begun, an opportunity to fast-track another element of the project has landed in their lap. The province has “stepped up” with $2.7 million through its Home for Good program to help fund 20 supportive housing units on Queen Street, while the County of Simcoe has agreed to provide a grant of $510,000 toward the project. That means Building Hope must come up with $390,000 to consummate the deal.
“We are asking you to forgive the $390,000 loan (used to purchase the land on) Queen Street,” Wagner asked of council, noting paperwork must be filed by March 30 to take advantage of the funding. “We are also asking that you would defer development fees and, finally, we are looking for a property tax exemption for the facility.” The current Lighthouse enjoys similar status.
Some councillors are concerned about financial and other impacts of the requests. Coun. Ted Emond said the request – for loan relief and development fee deferral – “amounts to $500,000” and adding a tax exemption would “be equivalent to a 1% increase to our taxes in 2018”, although he conceded the transactions would not be “cash-flowed” in that manner.
“I am also concerned by the precedent this sets,” he said, citing other potential projects that could seek funding such as the new hospice, the new women’s shelter and other initiatives. He also said “our city, over the next 10 years, will invest, through taxes and development charges, $7.56 million in social housing based on our agreement with the county.”
He also was not certain the project could help alleviate the so-called ‘alternate level of care’ bed crunch at the hospital and said council would be better served to wait on findings from the Community Wellness Index survey that will be completed this year.
Coun. Tim Lauer was not impressed. “It is a misrepresentation to claim that the support of the Building Hope project represents a 1% tax increase,” Lauer told OrillliaMatters. He said the project would represent a capital investment from reserves that is already acknowledged in the city’s 10-year capital plan. He also noted the request for tax exemption is consistent with all non-profits and a deferral of development charges has no impact on the tax levy. As such, he said “it represents no significant change in the annual tax rate or our forecasted debt per capita number.”
But that’s not the real issue, he said. “The real financial story here is that the city has a chance to leverage $390,000 into a $3.6-million build, an on-going provincial commitment of operating dollars in excess of $300,000 a year and a community-driven project that will provide 20 transitional housing units and 24/7 support for Orillia’s most vulnerable.”
He also had a different take on what precedent council's decision might set. "Personally I believe the city’s support of Building Hope will set a precedent and that going forward whenever future councils are presented with an opportunity to turn a $390,000 investment into a $3,600,000 asset for the benefit of the community, they will follow our lead and give it serious consideration."
In the end, the majority of council agreed to ask city staff for a report – due by Feb. 26 – to consider the financial implications of the requests, what other projects might be on the horizon and how the project might address the hospital’s bed crunch.
Wagner told OrilliaMatters Tuesday that he understands council’s approach. “I think it’s good that the city ensures due diligence when they get these kinds of asks,” Wagner said. “It is clear, I think, that the supportive housing phase will move quickly to construction start if our requests are granted. I don’t believe we are asking for much considering the province is chipping in $2.7 million and the county is chipping in $510,000 for our capital costs plus ongoing operating funds in perpetuity for the 20 new supportive units.”
When Wagner made his pitch to council, he was effusive about council’s previous commitment to the project. “I appreciate the social conscience of this council,” he said. “You have been overwhelmingly supportive of us.” He said “the Lighthouse will do the heavy lifting as far as planning, building and operations” goes. “We are ready to get our community services hub started with our shelter phase right on the heels of this supportive housing phase.”
While financial figures were bandied about, it was other numbers that Wagner and Goodall thought were important. Goodall said in 2017, about 400 men stayed in the dilapidated Peter Street shelter, representing 3,500 nights of use. “We were full most nights,” said Goodall, who noted currently there is no place for youth or families experiencing homelessness to find shelter. She said the soup kitchen served 25,000 meals last year and noted the facility also offers outreach services in conjunction with the John Howard Society, the Canadian Mental Health Association and others.
“We also provide clothes, we took on the motel voucher program since the Housing Resource Centre closed, we opened our facility as a community warming and community cooling facility,” she said.
The plan is so build on those programs in a modern, purpose-built facility. “The vision for Building Hope is a range of housing with supports available from emergency food and shelter to primary care, mental health and addictions services for people experiencing a housing crisis. (It’s about) promoting overall wellness for individuals and families.”
