City seeks 10 more apartments for project for single moms

The city may be applying for an additional $1 million from the federal and provincial governments to help convert the vacant Fleming College trade school on Bonaccord St. into 38 apartments for single moms and their kids.

The empty building was once known as the McRae campus.

Last year council promised to put $1.5 million from the feds and the province toward conversion of the campus into apartments, plus roughly $700,000 in waived fees.

But at the time, the plan was for 28 apartments; now a new city staff report states there’s room for an additional 10 apartments in the McRae campus building.

So council is going to consider applying for an additional $1 million in federal-provincial funding, plus offer an additional $292,000 in waived municipal fees. Council is expected to make a decision about it at a meeting at City Hall, on Monday.

The conversion of the McRae campus is one of two housing projects about to take place on the property.

A new six-storey building will also be constructed on the large gravel parking lot of the McRae campus; it will have 81 apartments for seniors. The two buildings will be connected by breezeway.

Peterborough Housing Corporation (PHC) - the city and county’s largest social housing provider - will operate the homes. The city is the sole shareholder of PHC.

The total cost of the project is around $39 million (federal and provincial grants will be available to help with construction, and financing is also available to the city).

The buildings are expected done in 2019.

Of the 81 seniors apartments, 50 will be staffed with personal support workers.

Of those 50 apartments, 20 will be reserved for elderly patients living at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) for lack of someplace else to go.

The idea is to provide a home for seniors who do not need the constant medical attention offered at a long-term care home but cannot live in a retirement home (where there are no supports at all).

Also on council’s agenda Monday night:

New governance model:

Council will be expected to ratify a plan to stop meeting every Monday, in 2018. Instead, they plan to bulk up the agenda some Mondays, to leave one or two Mondays free every month.

The idea is to give citizens more time to learn about issues, between meetings - and prepare themselves to speak to council, if they deem it necessary.

Currently, there are occasions when there’s only a week between the time councillors give preliminary approval to a plan and the time that plan is ratified at a city council meeting.

There are also other changes planned for 2018: Agendas and staff reports may be published on Thursday, prior to the Monday meeting (instead of Friday).

Also, meeting times will change: Instead of starting at 6:30 p.m. on Mondays, meetings would start at 5:30 p.m. (since agendas are likely to be heavier).

Councillors also asked for a limit on the amount of time a citizen can speak, when that citizen hasn’t registered in advance with the clerk’s office to do so: they will get four minutes, rather than seven minutes, to give a presentation.

There’s also going be a new 20-minute limit on the amount of time that can be taken up at meetings by unregistered delegations.

Councillors will to be allowed to extend that 20-minute limit to 32 minutes, however, if there are several people wanting to speak.

Ian Attridge, a local lawyer, is scheduled to speak to councillors about the plan before it is ratified.

East City sidewalks:

Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, the medical officer of health, is scheduled to speak to council about its plan to halt installation of a series of missing sidewalks in a residential neighbourhood in East City.

On Dec. 4, councillors gave preliminary approval to a plan to get more public consultation before installing the sidewalks.

There are areas along Fox meadow Rd., Easthill Dr. and Meadowview Rd. that are missing stretches of sidewalk, but many neighbours don’t want the city to add those links.

That’s because those sidewalks would span people’s driveways, in many cases, and it would limit the number of cars that can be parked.

At a public meeting in October, 48 per cent of attendees opposed sidewalks, 36 per cent wanted sidewalks on only one side of the streets and 16 per cent wanted sidewalks on only one side.

Salvaterra is a proponent of the concept of complete streets: that’s where there are sidewalks on both sides of the street, and there’s accessibility for all.

She has told councillors before about the health benefits of walking and cycling, for example, and how complete streets can help people stay healthy and active.

A livestream of the meeting – as well as tweets and blogging – will be available on The Examiner’s website on Monday evening.

Discussion of the McRae campus plans will take place at about 6:15 p.m.; the main meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.