THUNDER BAY — City councillor Mark Bentz is critical of the decision making process behind the city's shelter village initiative, stating that the whole project has not been done in a way that “favours public consultation or good planning.”
“We've been rushing through this,” Bentz said.
On Monday, council will vote on whether to ratify its previous decision and move forward with building 80 emergency shelter units on a site at 114 Miles St. East.
The matter has been put to council repeatedly since October, when city council voted unanimously to approve a ten-part human rights-based community action plan, which included a temporary village initiative.
A public survey was conducted at two sites, Kam River Heritage Park and Miles Street. The results showed a strong preference for the Miles Street location, which was ultimately recommended.
After significant backlash from local businesses, council voted against the proposed location and asked administration to bring them an extensive site selection list of all potential sites across the city.
Several locations were put forward, including a Lakehead Region Conservation Authority property in the Intercity area and a wooded lot on Cumberland Street North. City council ultimately set its sights on the Kam River Heritage Park. City issued a request for proposals from potential operators, but that plan was dropped last month when it became clear it would be too expensive to address the safety concerns of a neighbouring rail company.
The Miles Street location was then put back on the list as the most viable location for the shelter village and won a narrow, but uncertain, approval from council at its June 14 meeting.
In March, the city got $2.8 million in provincial funding through the Thunder Bay District Social Services Board to cover some operational and capital costs for the project. That funding was conditional on starting construction this month, but the city has since negotiated some flexibility in the timeline.
The project now has a completion date of March 31, 2026; however, 40 units still need to be built by Dec. 15 to retain the funding.
Bentz spoke to Newswatch on Wednesday, days before the ratification vote. He said the funding for the project shouldn’t drive council's decision.
“We should be making sound decisions and setting budgets that we believe will work. I think the $1.5 million in operating is far too low, and even the $5 million dollar capital. I mean, none of these things are assured," He said.
Another concern he has is the city’s liability once a location is selected. Without an operator for the shelter village, it could leave “the city as the landlord,” according to Bentz.
"We do not have an operator for the site. We don't even have a location selected, and yet we're giving, basically, delegating all the authority to administration once we pass these things to make all this happen,” Bentz said.
Bentz would like to see the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board take the reins of the project because their organization already oversees the city’s social services, including social housing.
“They have the expertise and the historical knowledge required for it, and they have a better idea of what's happening in the community with regards to social housing,” he said.
Bentz said that most municipalities undertaking similar initiatives are “not the lead in the project,” citing Timmins as an example, where the Cochrane District Services Board is the lead on a 40-unit facility that's in development.
He also said that $3.2-million project is completely funded through the province's Encampment Response Initiative fund, whereas Thunder Bay received less funding for its bigger and more costly program.
Bentz said he would like to go back and take another look at why Thunder Bay came up short, if council was “open to doing that sort of investigation.”
“We could have, potentially, gotten the entire $5 million, and we still could, who knows, but these are questions I think that need to be asked and explored rather than just rush to a decision. That's what happens when you rush things; things don't get debated or explored,” Bentz said.
