The City of Red Deer will be putting out a public call to private property owners this week “to leave no stone unturned” in the search for a permanent homeless shelter site.
The city wants to know if some local property owners are interested in putting their yet unadvertised properties on the market, said Jill Hanes, senior communications consultant for the city.
The goal is to gather a list of all possible shelter sites, including using the services of a commercial real estate agent.
Hanes, who outlined the next steps in the site selection process to councillors on Monday, said city administrators will do an initial assessment and technical evaluation of these possible sites — considering infrastructure costs, whether there’s a need for utility servicing, and other factors — and make a recommendation to council on Aug. 15.
In the second half of August, city council will consider the staff recommendations and use a previously adopted evaluation matrix for a comparison of criteria — including lot size, distance from residences and businesses, proximity to services, etc. This will further narrow the list of sites.
A final public announcement on the chosen site could be made at the Aug. 29 city council meeting — unless more information is requested.
Hanes said council could put additional sites on the list and ask for a technical review. “As we have said through the process we need to be responsive to new information and ensure Council as a whole is comfortable proceeding to the next step.” If that happens, the decision would likely need to be postponed to early September.
The idea is to keep the public informed as much as possible throughout the whole process, said Hanes — although some specific information about land negotiations will have to be kept confidential under provincial regulations.
Coun. Dianne Wyntjes noted the property that scores the highest on the evaluation matrix doesn’t necessarily have to be the one chosen by council, as there will be leeway in the selection process.
Lisa Perkins, general manager of corporate and employee services for the city, confirmed this is correct. The matrix “is just one tool,” she said, and doesn’t necessarily provide the definitive answer.
Some Red Deerians have indicated they are pleased with this more open public site selection process than with the close-door discussions that happened initially, said Coun. Vesna Higham. “It’s been very positive.”
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter