New shelter village site sought by City of Thunder Bay after safety assessment

The City of Thunder Bay is resuming its search for a site for its proposed temporary shelter village.

City council previously approved Kam River Heritage Park as the site of the village, which will include sleeping cabins for use by Thunder Bay's unhoused population.

However, an assessment of that site — which borders on the Kaministiquia River and a CPKC rail yard — determined it would be too costly to ensure the location's safety.

At Monday night's meeting, councillors voted to rescind its earlier approval, and directed administration to report back with a new site recommendation as soon as possible.

"This is a challenge," Current River Coun. Andrew Foulds said Tuesday morning. "It is complicated.

"There will be pluses and minuses with with each suggestion. But at the end of the day we do want to choose a site that is effective."

The city has budgeted $5.5 million for the construction of the village and $1.5 million annually in operating costs. However, if the city meets certain timelines, it's eligible for $2.8 million in external funding.

"Am I concerned about the funding? Yes," Foulds said. "But I would say that I'm even more concerned about making sure that we have a plan that is effective, and deals with, or tries to cope with, some of the most marginalized individuals, traumatized individuals, challenged individuals in our society.

"It is now June, and certainly the number of phone calls and emails that I have already received regarding encampments is higher than it has been in the past," he said. "So I have a lot of concerns. Funding is one of them. Making sure that our neighbourhoods are safe is another one.

"Making sure that we have a system that helps, guides and supports the most vulnerable worries me as well."

In a statement to CBC News on Monday, city administration said while choosing a new site would be a challenge, "city staff are confident the project can stay on track as long as a new site is approved by council in July."

Rilee Willianen, the city's encampment response lead, said the goal is to present a new site recommendation to council on July 14, so it can be ratified on July 21.

City council does not meet on June 30, or July 7.

"The resolution that council approved allows administration to re-examine some of the previously-reviewed sites, and also look at alternative sites that haven't been previously reviewed," Willianen said.

Prior to approving Kam River park, a number of locations were under consideration. Those include Miles Street East, Cumberland Street North, and Fort William Road.

The Miles Street East location was voted down by council in the fall.

In April, councillors approved the Cumberland Street North site, which is next to the Salvation Army's Journey to Life Centre. However, they didn't ratify that decision at their next meeting, instead directing administration to examine Kam River Heritage Park, and a location on Fort William Road, which is across from the CLE grounds and owned by the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority (LRCA).

That led to the approval of Kam River park location, and Monday's eventual rescinding of that decision.

Willianen said the Fort William Road site is now off the table, as the LRCA board has informed the city the land is no longer available.