By Curtis Galbraith

Coordinated Care Campus

City going ahead with Stonebridge purchase

Jul 13, 2021 | 12:56 AM

Grande Prairie’s Stonebridge Hotel will be converted into permanent supportive housing hub.

Council voted in favour of several motions related to the idea at Monday’s meeting, including approval of a development permit and adding $15.5 million to the 2021 capital budget to buy and renovate the hotel and conference centre into the proposed Coordinated Care Campus.

That breaks down to a purchase price of $12.5 million and $3 million for renovations.

Council has given first reading to a borrowing bylaw for that purchase. Second and third reading will come at a future meeting.

Councillor Chris Thiessen says Grande Prairie is in “a housing crisis that hasn’t gotten any better over the last decade”.

“We have been improving our lots, but COVID shut us down there. One thing we have always been lacking is housing spaces across the spectrum for people with complex needs and issues and so the Stonebridge project is the culmination of being able to address those needs within our community that are compounding upon each other.”

Councillor Dylan Bressey says he hears “constantly” from Grande Prairie residents about the issue of homelessness.

“There are many that want to make sure people have a chance to get healthy. But also, everybody wants to reduce social disorder on our streets and save money,” he said.

“We’re spending a huge amount of money on homelessness. This project is what we need to address those issues we are seeing in our community.”

Many area residents brought up concerns about the project at the meeting, from believing the process to purchase the hotel was too rushed, to concerns around increased drug use and crime in the area.

Bressey says this facility would have an advantage in dealing with these concerns because it is municipally owned.

“Which means that the owner of the facility has to be responsive to community concerns and issues that arise.”

Bressey says the expectation is that current residents of the Parkside Inn will move into the Stonebridge this summer. Officials will see how this works out and what adjustments must be made before anyone else moves in.

Councillor Wade Pilat was the only member of council to vote against the idea. He cited several concerns about how things like security, food, and garbage would be paid for.

Pilat was also upset that council was given a report on the project on Friday afternoon and he did not feel that there was enough time to go through everything in time for a vote on Monday.

Pilat chaired the meeting in his role as deputy mayor. Interim Mayor Jackie Clayton was away but did attend the afternoon session by Zoom.

She did not attend the evening session and had already recused herself from discussions around the Stonebridge because she once worked for the company that is selling the building.

Things got testy towards the end of the long meeting, which ran for a total of nearly seven-and-a-half hours with much of the five-and-a-half-hour evening session devoted to discussion of the Stonebridge proposal.

Pilat asked the city manager at one point to name the last time a report on a project like this had been given out on the Friday before a meeting. City manager Horacio Galanti refused to answer the question saying it was disrespectful to administration and that the issue of homelessness has been discussed at city hall for years.

Council also approved two motions made by Bressey. One would have administration provide quarterly reports to the standing committee level on RCMP stats from the area and what is described as “significant feedback” from a Community Advisory Committee and a Residents Advisory Committee that would be formed.

The other would see administration set aside $50,000 in grant money for crime prevention projects for nearby property owners. The money would come from a reserve fund.

Alternative proposals, one of them a 72-unit facility for vacant land close to the Friendship Centre brought to council Monday night by a delegation representing Alberta Lands, have also emerged. Council voted to receive this for information.

Thiessen is hopeful the people who brought up these ideas will work on their own or with the city to bring them about. He adds the worry is that winter is coming and spaces with supports are needed right away.