Five community positions cut from regional housing board
D’Angela said the changes could instead help ensure the board has “broad- based experience” among its membership, “so when you’re running a $ 50- million corporation you’re having a strong board with good credentials behind them.”
He said the changes are also the result of regional council’s increased focus on affordable housing, and reducing the NRH waiting list that now exceeds 5,000 households.
“Although the wait list is not controlled by regional council, the investments they ( councillors) make in Niagara Regional Housing can impact the waiting list for affordable housing,” D’Angela said. “I think there’s a greater recognition and responsibility towards affordable housing, more so now than in the past.”
That increased responsibility has helped spur on development of an 85- unit building under construction at 527 Carlton St. in St. Catharines that is expected to be complete by the end of the year, as well as a project planned for Welland to replace four semi- detached homes with six new duplex row houses.
D’Angela said NRH also has an intensification project planned for Niagara Falls.
The agency managed to save $ 1.7 million in its 2017 budget, and hopes to use the surplus to kickstart a project to build 41 housing units in Niagara Falls. D’Angela said regional council has yet to approve the request to allocate the surplus to the Niagara Falls project.
“I’m hoping they don’t take some of that money and use it to balance their books because I know the police budget came in at a deficit,” he pointed out.
Three of NRH’s four community board positions have already been filled — James Hyatt, Karen Blackley and Betty Ann Baker were appointed last Friday. They join D’Angela and regional Couns. Paul Grenier from Welland, St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik, Selina Volpatti from Niagara Falls and Tim Rigby from St. Catharines.
D’Angela said NRH board members receive stipends of $ 150 to $ 200 a month, regardless of whether or not they also serve on regional council.