A Better Tent City asks for $155K from region to cover costs of extending power to new location

Organizers with Kitchener's tiny home alternative housing community will be asking the Region of Waterloo for a one-time $155,000 fund that will help pay for extending power to its new location.

A Better Tent City moved to Ardelt Avenue in October and co-founder Jeff Willmer said that meant the group took on additional costs, like renting a generator to provide residents with power and heat. 

Willmer said that investment put a strain on their resources, which is why the group will be asking Region of Waterloo councillors for funding on Tuesday. 

"We created a model that works at a really low operating cost, but it was the cost of moving that caused us to inherit these significant one-time costs," Willmer said.

"In order to pay our bills we kind of drained our resources and that's challenging when we still got work to do."

That works includes finishing the construction of washrooms and kitchen facilities on the new site.

The tiny homes are located on a grassy area between Ardelt Avenue and the Conestoga Parkway jointly owned by the the City of Kitchener and the Waterloo Region District School Board.

That location hasn't historically had access to utilities like water, electricity, and sewer, according to a report detailing the group's funding request.

"[A Better Tent City] has incurred significant costs concerning power in particular, including costs to generate power to provide electricity, while work is underway to connect the site to the electrical grid," the report says.

The Region of Waterloo's 2021 housing services homelessness operating budget supports various services to the region's most vulnerable residents, including the tiny home community.

The report said, "there is sufficient capacity in the 2021 budget to accommodate the estimated one-time costs as requested by [A Better Tent City]."

The funding will go to cover the temporary costs of the move, which include:

• Providing electrical supply to each cabin: $16,100.
• Rental and diesel costs for operating the generator: $52,900.
• Conversion to the electrical grid at a cost of $86,000.