GF council "rethinks" 10-year lease
By Contributor
At this week’s regular meeting, Grand Forks city council made a decision to seek grant funding to help determine long term planning for transitional housing in the community. This resolution has an impact on the request from the Multi Agency Accommodation Project, known as MAAP, which requested council support a ten-year lease on the current location of the project on Riverside Drive.
The MAAP team came to council early in the year asking for a lease extension on the land because B.C. Housing had ear-marked $100,000 towards transitional housing for the project, which is contingent on the lease extension of the current property.
Council made the tough decision to rethink the motion passed at a previous meeting, to support the 10-year lease, although it was contingent on grant funding and public notice.
Council agrees that the partnership is an essential one in the community and the services provided are necessary. The community has a large transient population; many are marginalized and face challenges.
After much deliberation and time spent reviewing the project, council wanted to get it right and determined that it is important to look at the current and long term impacts of transitional housing in Grand Forks.
The City will be seeking grant funding to support the development of a professional planning report, which will provide guidance on the immediate and long term transitional housing needs of the community. The City will reach out to different agencies in the community for their input.
— City of Grand Forks
