Quesnel Council defers further readings of the Elliott Street supportive housing bylaws

Courtesy of the City of Quesnel:

Due to significant and ongoing confusion surrounding the operating model for BC Housing’s proposed supportive housing complex on Elliott Street, Quesnel City Council has voted to defer any further readings of the two bylaws needed to give this project the go ahead. Despite pressing pause on this particular project, Council remains committed to enabling BC Housing to invest in supportive transition housing in Quesnel and to working with our community’s health and social service agencies to provide much needed mental health and addictions services to some of the most vulnerable and marginalized citizens in our community.

Quesnel City Council will not consider these bylaws again until the following conditions are met:

1. The operating model for this supportive housing facility is clearly communicated to Council and to the public.
    
2. All questions from the public received at the September 18 public hearing have been answered and posted on the City’s website.
    
3. A Housing Agreement (between BC Housing and the City of Quesnel) is finalized and signed by BC Housing, and a Good Neighbour Agreement is approved by Council and signed by the operator.
    
4. A transition plan is developed that clearly outlines what services will not be offered at the proposed supportive housing complex and where those services will be delivered in the community. This transition plan must also outline how the current facility (Seasons House on Carson Avenue) will transition to the service delivery model proposed for the new supportive housing facility as soon as possible.

“We hope that BC Housing will work with the community to clarify the confusion about what services will and will not be offered at their proposed supportive housing facility,” said Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson. “This confusion has come as a result of the proposed operator (the Quesnel Shelter and Support Society, which currently runs Seasons House) refusing to work cooperatively with the City to develop agreements that will avoid a repeat of the significant community safety issues created by the way the current homeless shelter is being managed.”

Council also passed a resolution strongly advising BC Housing to issue an open Request for Proposals for the operations of their proposed new facility so all qualified service providers interested in operating this new facility can bid on the operating contract, including the Quesnel Shelter and Support Society. “Unfortunately, the Quesnel Shelter and Support Society has lost the confidence of too many citizens in our community to simply be awarded the contract without having to compete with other qualified organizations,” stated Mayor Simpson. “There are a number of agencies in our community and in Williams Lake and Prince George that should be given an equal opportunity to bid on this contract; agencies that have strong and unblemished track records and years of experience running supportive housing facilities.”

Mayor Simpson reaffirmed the City’s commitment to work with Northern Health, the RCMP, and all the other social services and mental health and addictions agencies to develop a strategy to provide comprehensive supports to people with addictions and mental health issues. The City has been actively working with Northern Health in an effort to develop this strategy since early March this year, but these efforts have been stymied by the refusal of the Quesnel Shelter and Support Society to engage in this process in a proactive and productive manner.