Latest / North Shore News / September 24th, 2024

Transcript

September 24th, 2024 · North Shore News

• 0:00
  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on Amherst Island Radio.
• 0:12
  Each week we keep you updated on newsworthy events, happenings and conversations that
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  we've had with people in the local community and beyond.
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  Lennox and Addington County will be exploring a partnership with one or more of its lower
• 0:31
  tier municipalities for a $15.7 million affordable housing project in the area.
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  Council received the report at their meeting on September 18th.
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  With a 42-unit building consisting of all one-bedroom units mentioned in the report,
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  staff also spoke to council about other multi-unit options in one or more of the municipalities.
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  The estimated total cost is based on the partnership including the donation of land and an exemption
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  for all development charges.
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  According to the report, the largest need based on the centralized waitlist is for
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  one-bedroom units.
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  A staff working group was put together and reviewed existing county-owned properties
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  but noted no suitable properties for this type of project.
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  Director of Social Services, Addington County, Lynn Chenye, describes the report and the
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  nature of staff's estimates.
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  This is very high level.
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  It includes estimates and it's kind of the worst case scenario if that it had to be
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  funded 100% by the municipality.
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  We have tried to look at what the best mix of units could be in terms of market rent,
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  affordable housing rents or RGI which is not included in this report because that brings
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  the income down to try and make the building sustainable.
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  Even with just a mix of market and affordable, it does not fully pay for itself.
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  So these estimates are really as if it's 100% funded by the municipality.
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  Chenye explains that the project could include more than one building in more than one municipality.
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  I don't think we're necessarily targeting municipality.
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  We probably are with this particular size of build in terms of 42 units.
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  That is up to council's will.
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  So if council would like to see a smaller building or build happen in a more rural population,
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  it's we're really open to whatever council decides.
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  A 42 unit building in Caledon or Flinten probably would not be the most appropriate in Napañí
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  or Amherství or Odessa.
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  It very well could be.
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  But again, it's up to council's will if they would like to choose two projects.
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  We're more than happy to pursue that as well.
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  Chenye notes how regulations for some funding opportunities could change the scope of the
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  project.
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  We would, of course, if the project was to go forward to any next steps, we would be
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  applying for any and all funding opportunities available.
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  Any opportunities through CMHC or municipal affairs and housing, of course, could change
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  the mix of the unit types, meaning affordable or market, because they may have to include
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  rank year to income as well.
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  So that could change numbers moving forward.
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  However, it could be offset if we were able to receive capital investment for that.
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  To apply for funding through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, projects must be
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  shovel ready.
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  CMHC funding programs are Canada wide and cannot be relied on to offset any of the capital
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  costs due to funding limits and the competitive nature of the programs.
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  CAO Brenda Orchard noted that they might be leaning towards Napañí or Loyalist Township.
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  What we're thinking about with the next steps to explore partnership with the lower tiers
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  and we didn't specify one because really there is no plan for it to be one or another.
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  I mean, one would figure if it's a 42-unit building, it needs servicing of water and
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  sewer, not well-inceptic, so that automatically suggests Napañí or Loyalist.
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  Orchard also noted the possibility of multiple units in one or more of the municipalities.
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  There's nothing to say that we couldn't do two, four units in Addington Highlands the
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  way we did in Stone Mills.
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  Maybe it's a 30-unit building and then two, four-unit buildings somewhere else.
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  I mean, that's still on the table.
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  Deputy Warden, Nathan Townend, brought forth the original motion for staff to explore these
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  options and explains why the report is an important starting point for a conversation.
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  I'm grateful to the director for bringing the report because it answers what I wanted
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  to be out there in the public domain as to what the costs are.
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  And obviously, I think all of us are kind of balking at even the estimated cost to our
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  taxpayers of funding this completely by ourselves.
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  But that said, I don't want this to stop here.
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  I want us to continue to have this conversation.
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  Townend notes the need for housing in Napañí and how staff at the county need to stay
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  realistic in their planning.
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  There are particular needs that are unique to particular municipalities.
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  And I think it's no secret that Napañí is struggling with a lot of these issues.
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  And we have to have a team L&A approach.
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  And I think Napañí has very clear needs that I am happy for the county to address.
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  Obviously, the high-level price tag to this is a lot for everybody.
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  But I want to see something continue to go forward.
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  But I think this is a good base and does what I wanted it to do in the initial motion back
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  in the early summer in terms of having it be out there in the public's mind just exactly
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  what these things cost and that we are trying as the county to be proactive.
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  But we also need to be realistic about what we're looking at.
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  Shenye describes how county staff will be approaching and conversing with the lower-tier
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  municipalities.
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  It would be an open conversation.
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  We're not going in and saying, do you have three acres of service land with a road?
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  And all of that kind of stuff.
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  It would be very open conversation because really ultimately it's up to council to decide.
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  And we know that there is a housing need in all of the lower-tier municipalities.
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  That's just a fact of life.
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  It's right across the province and right across the county.
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  So we would definitely want it to be a very open conversation between us, the county,
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  and the lower-tier municipalities to see what's out there, what can be done, who's willing
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  to partner, who's not willing to partner, and bring those options back to council.
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  Shenye explains how wait lists work for affordable housing and notes current statistics in the
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  area.
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  People apply basically for every available unit size that they need.
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  So they're on the list.
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  There's 400 and some individuals, but they're on multiple lists.
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  And it doesn't track where they're from necessarily.
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  Everybody in the province can apply in any municipality for rent for rankier to income
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  housing.
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  The by-name list, we can pull it off by county only.
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  So we would know the numbers.
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  So it's actually 70 in Lenox and Addington, and I believe it's 22 in Prince Edward County.
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  The bulk of the by-name list numbers are in Greater Napa Nih, but they're not 100% in
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  Greater Napa Nih because that by-name list also includes people who are couch surfing,
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  living with family, living in overcrowded conditions, and all of those kinds of things.
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  Shenye notes that wait lists include people from all over the area and beyond.
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  Most of the people who are on our centralized wait lists, yes, live within LNA, Prince Edward
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  County, probably Kingston, Hastings, our neighbors, because it's fairly close and they don't mind
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  traveling that distance.
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  But I can't guarantee that it would be specifically for people who are from LNA only.
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  The shortage of affordable housing results in a wide range of negative impacts both to
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  individuals as well as to broader systems such as industry, healthcare, emergency services,
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  and businesses.
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  Shenye explains how rent geared to income housing could see benefits as well even though
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  it wasn't included in the report.
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  This proposed model that's included in this report is for market and affordable housing.
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  It does not include rent geared to income housing, so it likely would not assist anyone
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  who's currently homeless on the streets.
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  However, it would potentially free up rent geared to income units that are already in
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  place.
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  So what we did with Tamworth is we went to our existing tenants who were paying market
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  rent in our rent geared to income housing buildings and offered, you know, as long as
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  they were in good standing, we would offer them, hey, would you like to move to this
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  new building and your rent would be the same or similar to what you're paying here.
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  So we easily found six people who wanted to move from the existing rent geared to income
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  building to the affordable housing.
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  It freed up those units to then open those up to rent geared to income again, which
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  so it helps down the pipeline.
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  Shenye explains that rent for the units would be 80 percent of CMHC's average market rent.
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  I took the full market rent from the rural housing information system which scans retail
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  listings of apartments.
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  So for a one bedroom, it would be 1450.
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  The affordable rent is 80 percent, which would bring it to 899.25 a month.
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  Councillor Terry Richardson notes the reality of the situation for individuals in the community.
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  I don't think it's any price to anybody that our municipality has now been struck by this
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  homeless situation where we have folks living in tents.
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  I'm sure that the numbers are as accurate as they can be.
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  But you know, we have folks living in the cars, driving to work, and they're living
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  in parking lots.
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  We have many, many more folks that are one paycheck away from being there.
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  And we have to create as much housing as possible.
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  Richardson describes the importance of tackling the issue despite the costs.
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  I think we need to overturn every stone that's out there, not just, you know, whether we
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  can get free land here or free land there, I think we have to overturn every stone to
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  see what we can do to try and bring and be quite honest.
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  I'm not even sure what affordable housing is anymore.
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  I really don't.
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  But what I do know is that we need housing.
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  And at this point, we'll take any type of housing we can get.
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  So I think we're moving in the right direction.
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  I would just don't want to lose, I don't want to lose any momentum because there's a lot
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  of big numbers on a piece of paper.
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  So I can appreciate following budgets and we have to stay within our means.
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  But can we afford not to do it?
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 10:49
  This is North Shore News.
• 11:00
  The John M. Parrott Center has been funded for over $400,000 to update and replace a
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  range of equipment and infrastructure around the center.
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  This one-time funding from the Ministry of Long-Term Care has seen all long-term care
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  homes in Ontario receive $2,543 per bed for installation of sprinklers.
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  The initiative is designed to help homes meet Ontario fire code requirements by January
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  1, 2025.
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  The John M. Parrott Center already had sprinklers installed and were able to use the funds elsewhere
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  to address key priorities in the home.
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  Having received $427,224, the center will be undergoing a number of upgrades.
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  Director of Long-Term Care Services, Atlantic and Addington County, Angela Malcolm, explains
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  how they chose where to spend the funding.
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  What I've tried to do is balance things that we had anticipated from a 10-year capital
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  plan, so things that we know are upcoming, and then also try to look at things that we
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  wouldn't have normally considered because we just didn't have the funds in which to
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  do, so it's trying to balance both of those things.
• 12:03
  The phones the center currently uses are at the end of their life, and replacement parts
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  are no longer available.
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  Malcolm breaks down the costs for the new wireless phone system.
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  The wireless phone system would be using $50,000, which we had already planned for within our
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  2024 capital budget, and then $40,000 would be used out of the one-time funding.
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  Malcolm notes the center's need for the new digital call bell displays.
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  Two years ago we put in a new call bell system, and so these digital call bell displays will
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  be down each of the hallways so that the staff can see what is, see who is being called,
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  which room is calling, and they wouldn't have to be wearing pagers and losing pagers, and
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  we go through a lot of pagers, so this would help eliminate that issue as well.
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  Director of Infrastructure Services, Atlantic and Addington County, Chris Wager, explains
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  why staff chose to go with one company for both the new phone system and the digital
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  call bell displays.
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  This wireless phone system has been in place for over 20 years, almost 25 years.
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  Most municipalities have replaced those about 10 years ago, and I've actually even further
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  replaced, started replacing those replacements, so we've got extended lifespan out of our
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  existing infrastructure, but we're at the point where we can't even get backups or hardware
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  to support that.
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  So we really need to replace the entire system.
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  So tying into the call bell system with the Simtel, staff's recommending that we sole
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  source, so it's a better service for a residence.
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  That way if we go with a different company and there's a hardware patch or a software
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  patch, you run the risk of the two systems not being compatible and they need to talk
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  to each other.
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  So that's why we're suggesting we go with the one system, one supplier, and they'll
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  be able to meet all of our needs, whether it's for the call bell system or the wireless
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  phone system.
• 14:01
  Malcolm describes how the funding will go towards new chairs for residence bedrooms.
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  The resident bedroom chairs, this would purchase 70 chairs.
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  The number that we require changes from year to year.
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  Many families like to bring, or residents like to bring in their own lazy boy chairs,
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  so depending on what the mix is at the time, I thought we would start with 70.
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  The chairs that I've quoted here are very IPAC friendly, very wipeable.
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  The ones we currently have are most certainly not and require a lot of dry cleaning and
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  steam cleaning in order to maintain them.
• 14:36
  Malcolm explains why they need to replace handrails in the center as well.
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  The Clorox and all of the cleaning that we're doing is taking the surface right off of our
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  handrails and so they're becoming a significant infection control issue.
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  So we budgeted 28,000 and that was actually to start this year and then moving forward
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  for the next six years.
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  But the quote actually came in at 54,000.
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  So there was a significant increase in that.
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  So we thought we would start with the core, the center core up and down, and then we would
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  start with three RHAs, one of them being our secure unit because they do tend to hold
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  onto the handrail the most and then two other areas.
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  So that would leave us with three RHAs left to do that we would again plan for within
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  the capital moving forward.
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  Lennox and Addington County Council approved staff spending report at their meeting this
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  week.
• 15:28
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 15:32
  This is North Shore News.
• 15:43
  Lennox and Addington County will be applying for nearly $3 million to reconstruct a portion
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  of County Road 6 between Taylor Kidd and Highway 33.
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  Council approved staff at their meeting this week to make the application under the Municipal
• 15:55
  Housing Infrastructure Program through the Housing Enabling Core Servicing Stream.
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  Local applicants could see up to 50% of their costs matched by the province.
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  Projects funded through the program will include repair and expansion of municipal roads and
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  bridges that will help promote growth for developing communities.
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  The estimated cost for the County Road 6 project is $6 million.
• 16:15
  Although staff found the County Road 23 extension and the new roads in Greater Napa Nei to be
• 16:19
  projects that would enable development opportunities and promote growth, they don't meet the requirement
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  of having property purchased prior to submission.
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  Director of Infrastructure Services, Atlantic and Addington County, Chris Wager explains
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  the program and what projects staff were considering.
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  We did look at some other projects as well.
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  The whole purpose of the Housing Enabling Core Services Stream is meant to repair roads
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  and bridges or expand on your current infrastructure that will promote growth and help develop
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  your communities.
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  The two main projects that came to mind was the Taylor Kidd extension as it does connect
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  to communities and the western extension north-south road here in Napa Nei that we just recently
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  completed the EEA on.
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  Unfortunately, as part of the application process, all the land has to be acquired by
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  the municipality prior to an application.
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  We're just not there yet.
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  We've only acquired a portion of the land, which means we'd only be able to fund the
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  portion of the road extension that the land has already been purchased on, which is that
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  we have zero for the Napa Nei portion and only about 10% of the Taylor Kidd extension.
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  Wager notes why the County Road 6 project was their best option.
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  Looking at all of our projects, the County Road 6 project was planned for rehabilitation.
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  It was only planned for a short-term rehabilitation just to tie us over until the Amherst View
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  West started to build out.
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  But if we can get funding now, we could build that out with intersection improvements and
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  turn lanes that will be required for those subdivisions because we don't have development
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  charges and it would be funded by the province in this case.
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  And it's just it's money, not that we have to put on our tax base, but from the province.
• 18:19
  Councillor Terry Richardson brought forth a motion for county staff to further explore
• 18:22
  options for the new roads in Greater Napa Nei.
• 18:25
  I would like to see make the motion that staff at the county level would explore and to bring
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  back a report with respect to the obtaining or purchasing the lands required to facilitate
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  the north-south extension of Jim Kimba Boulevard through to Bridge Street in the town of Greater
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  Napa Nei.
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  The motion was then voted on and passed by Council.
• 18:55
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 19:00
  This is North Shore News.
• 19:11
  Lenox and Addington County staff addressed concerns this week regarding the current closure
• 19:15
  of Highway 41.
• 19:17
  The construction for culvert replacements requires closures along the highway that started on
• 19:22
  September 16th and will span until the 25th.
• 19:25
  Director of Infrastructure Services at Lenox and Addington County, Chris Wager, describes
• 19:29
  that there isn't a real solution to the concerns being raised.
• 19:33
  We have received some concerns from Addington Highlands as well as a lot of residents in
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  Stone Mills, Napa Nei and in Addington Highlands regarding the temporary closure of County Road
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  41 from a staffing point.
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  The county does not want to close County Road 41 ever.
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  We really recognize that it's the main connection point between the north and the south for
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  emergency services, economic development and just travel to work and school.
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  Unfortunately due to the depth of the culverts, the elevation of the road and the type of
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  fill and adjacent environment, nothing is really possible.
• 20:18
  An option the county considered was building temporary bypasses on the highway.
• 20:22
  Wager explains why this wasn't a feasible option.
• 20:25
  I know from an engineering standpoint a bypass is really the only thing that was possible,
• 20:31
  but we don't own any of the property.
• 20:33
  It's extremely environmental habitat that would be disrupted.
• 20:38
  In fact, even though the one bypass is right in the in Caledar or just at the south end
• 20:45
  of Caledar, we'd be going through like someone's garage in order to build a bypass.
• 20:50
  So it's really not possible because of the extent of damage to private property.
• 20:56
  We looked at relining, we looked at trench boxes and just due to safety concerns because
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  of the depth and the type of material, it's just not possible.
• 21:06
  To address potential service reductions, the Emergency Services Division are planning
• 21:10
  to add staff in the northern area of the closure.
• 21:13
  They've coordinated with the Central Ambulance Communication Center to ensure neighboring
• 21:17
  services are informed and to mitigate delays in critical situations.
• 21:21
  Transporting patients from this area will require rerouting to hospitals in Perth,
• 21:25
  Belleville or Kingston as Napa-nee would be significantly longer.
• 21:28
  A road closure notice was issued on August 30th.
• 21:32
  These adjustments are aimed at minimizing impact during the closure but offer no solution
• 21:35
  other than detouring around the closure.
• 21:38
  Councillor Henry Hogg brought forth a motion for more signage in the area.
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  If I could, I'd make a motion that we supply some additional signage at least in the area
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  of County Road 29 because the traffic count on Highway 41 in the past has been greater
• 21:53
  than Highway 7 from the counts that I've heard.
• 21:57
  Council then voted on and passed the motion after Wager explained that this would be a
• 22:01
  possibility.
• 22:02
  We could put additional signage up at Flintin at County Road 29 to direct people to take
• 22:08
  Flintin Road to go that way.
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  It is additional signage and it's well beyond the area of the detour but that is possible
• 22:17
  if that's Council's wishes.
• 22:19
  The project involves replacing four culverts in which two can be done with a lane closure
• 22:23
  while the other two need a full road closure.
• 22:26
  The closures will last until September 25th.
• 22:28
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 22:33
  This is North Shore News.
• 22:45
  Loyalist Township has launched a new online engagement platform for members of the public.
• 22:50
  The Engage Loyalist platform features a number of initiatives that the Township has opened
• 22:54
  up for public input.
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  Along with each initiative, users can find background information, current statistics,
• 23:00
  a project timeline, and see who among Township staff will be hearing their input.
• 23:06
  Councillor Paul Praterick explains the idea behind Engage Loyalist and notes some of
• 23:09
  the current initiatives on the platform.
• 23:12
  Engage Loyalist is just one of the many methods that we are trying to use to communicate with
• 23:16
  the local population.
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  They can learn about the projects ongoing, give feedback on some of the initiatives that
• 23:22
  happen in the Township.
• 23:25
  With the local media and the loss of the newsprint, we have to be proactive versus reactive in
• 23:31
  some of our planning and to give people an idea of what's on the site right now.
• 23:36
  You've got the Waste Management Master Plan that people can comment on.
• 23:40
  The Ward Boundary Review, which will be hopefully in place for the next election.
• 23:44
  Batcock Mill, the Reading Garden, Main Street Bat, the reconstruction of the changes in
• 23:49
  public transit that just happened in the last week or so.
• 23:52
  One that I would encourage people to comment on is the 2025 budget process as we move through
• 23:57
  it.
• 23:58
  A lot of times people maybe have questions, but usually it's after the fact, well after
• 24:03
  it's established, I'm still getting questions about some spending and that's six months,
• 24:08
  eight months later, so get involved and Engage Loyalist is just one of the many ways we
• 24:13
  try to engage with the local population.
• 24:15
  The platform asks users to sign up in order to have their say and stay up to date.
• 24:20
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Tat Evans.
• 24:25
  This is North Shore News.
• 24:28
  This has been North Shore News and Interviews.
• 24:32
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• 24:37
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• 24:41
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