Lakeshore council has approved redirecting more than $2 million in federal Housing Accelerator Fund money after administration determined a planned wastewater infrastructure project could not be completed within the funding deadline.
The $2.04 million was originally earmarked for the Belle River Sanitary Sewer Expansion project but will now be redirected to projects aimed at supporting housing growth and development.
The funding will be allocated as follows:
- Community Improvement Plan (brownfields, heritage and additional housing) - $600,000
- Affordable housing public-private partnership - $800,000
- Wallace Woods Secondary Plan - $125,000
- Additional planning staff and support - $311,162
- Place-based economic development strategy - $100,000
- Parks and recreation growth planning - $100,000
At the final council meeting of the 2022-26 term on Tuesday night, outgoing Ward 4 Coun. John Kerr argued council should hold onto the money longer in case other funding opportunities emerge that could allow it to be used for the Bell River sanitary project.
“I’m just asking my fellow councillors just to wait and see and check out options other than just running and spending the money now. We’ve got a little bit of time,” Kerr said.
Interim CAO Justin Rousseau said the municipality’s limited capacity and federal timelines require a change in direction.
He added that the Wallace Woods Secondary Plan is critical to meeting housing targets tied to the federal funding.
“At this time, with the ticking clock on the grant for HAF and its housing initiatives, this is the recommendation of the pivot,” Rousseau said.
Mayor Tracey Bailey supported the move, saying the municipality must remain flexible after securing additional infrastructure funding from other sources.
“We have to set the foundation in order to deliver on our infrastructure. That’s what this will do. It will set the solid foundation. We’ve needed to move things along through the project and we’re going to have to continue doing that. But to leave it to a new council that doesn’t understand the pressures of what we’ve been through to get to where we are now, I would never take that risk,” Bailey said.
The motion passed 5-2, with Kerr and Ward 6 Coun. Larissa Vogler opposed.