Huron County investigates further supporting housing options

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Huron County Council is moving ahead with two potential options for supportive housing sites, with a final decision to be made at a future meeting.

 

Huron County Manager of Planning Denise Van Amersfoort presented her report to council at its July 6 meeting, bringing forward four options with very rough approximated costs associated with each option.

 

Van Amersfoort didn’t ask for council to make a final decision at the July 6 meeting, but asked which options council would consider further. She would then research them thoroughly and present a comprehensive report on any of those preferred options at a future meeting. (A special meeting of council has been scheduled for Wednesday, July 27 for this issue, so as to not get too close to a potential lame duck scenario due to the municipal election and associated spending and decision-making limitations.)

 

Council has asked for more information on a 39-unit apartment building on Gibbons Street in Goderich, which would include 10 supportive units, and a 10-unit supportive housing facility at a location that has yet to be determined. Approximate costs (Van Amersfoort said there is a “significant amount of contingency” built into the estimated costs before more research can be conducted) for those two options would be $20.4 million and $5.2 million, respectively. Both would include additional operating costs for supportive service delivery.

 

The two options council turned away are a 20-unit apartment building on Sanders Street East in Exeter and a 39-unit apartment building on Gibbons Street that would be identical to the first option, but without any supportive housing units. The costs associated with those two options would be $10.1 million and $20.4 million, respectively.

 

“Capital funding for proposed housing builds will be provided from county reserves and debenture financing through Infrastructure Ontario. Staff would propose debenture financing over a 20-30-year period. The interest and principal payments on the debentures and the annual operating costs will be added to the county’s budget,” Van Amersfoort said in her report.
Van Amersfoort also noted that she and Director of Social and Property Services Barbara Hall presented the options in the order of their recommendation, so the first two options were the pair’s preferred solutions.

 

The first option, with an identified site, would involve acquiring property from the Town of Goderich by way of a land transfer, Van Amersfoort said.

 

“A 39-unit apartment containing 10 supportive units is proposed for the former Victoria Public School property in Goderich (located on Gibbons Street). The Town of Goderich owns the subject property; county staff have, as directed by county council, had discussions with the Town of Goderich administration and they are supportive of the site being proposed,” Van Amersfoort said in her report. “The units would be a mix of one- and two-bedroom units and would comprise a blend of socio-economic households, including individuals from the county’s by-name list, rent-geared-to-income [and] affordable units. Tenants of the supportive units would be provided with ‘wrap-around supports’ to help ensure successful tenancy.”

 

For this option, she added, the county would be able to apply to Ontario Health for clinician support once council made a commitment to a physical build. If the funding were to be approved, Van Amersfoort said in her report, it would be permanent.
The solution would require a land transfer from the Town of Goderich and planning approvals, Van Amersfoort said, and cost approximately $20.4 million, plus operating costs for supportive service delivery.

 

The second option would cost an estimated $5.2 million, plus operating costs for supportive service delivery, and there is no proposed location for the site at this time.

 

“This proposed facility would be for individuals identified on the county’s by-name list and include offices for agencies and medical appointments, as well as communal spaces for gatherings. Tenants would have independent living units (i.e. individual kitchens and washrooms, etc.) and be provided with ‘wrap-around supports’ to ensure successful tenancy,” Van Amersfoort said in her report. 

 

“This option fits a dispersed supportive housing model (i.e. having several, smaller facilities located throughout the county, rather than one large facility). A supportive housing build meets multiple priorities of county council by providing stable, year-round supports to homeless members of our community and shifting away from the temporary shelter model over time.”
The second option would also put the county in a position to apply to Ontario Health for clinician support which, if approved, would become permanent.

 

Goderich Mayor John Grace said he would like to see the first option go ahead, adding that supportive housing in Goderich would be a crucial step in helping to address the issue of homelessness in his community.

 

Central Huron Deputy-Mayor Dave Jewitt said he wouldn’t favour any option that eschewed any of the supportive services, adding that there is a mental health aspect to the situation that would be left behind if the supportive services were cut out of the proposal.

 

Council authorized Van Amersfoort and her team to bring back more information on the first two options, to be presented for a decision at council’s special meeting, scheduled for July 27.