The Town of Stellarton has decided to defer a commitment for Viola’s Place until the next fiscal year, which starts in March.
Council heard a presentation from Karen McPhee and Mark Firth, both members of the board of directors for Viola’s Place – a shelter planned to help homeless and disadvantaged people in Pictou County.
Firth and McPhee spoke to council on Feb. 12 about where the money asked of the municipalities of Pictou County would go. The Town of Stellarton was asked to provide $5,000 to support the costs associated with opening the shelter – an amount McPhee said was proportionate to the size of Stellarton relative to other Pictou County municipalities.
After a discussion of statistics associated with homelessness, sources of funding for the shelter, and the board’s plans on how to use that funding, Coun. Garry Pentz suggested putting the matter off until next year’s budget deliberations.
“I think $5,000 is a lot of money at this time. I want to wait until the next financial year to look at it – it’s only a month away,” said Pentz.
Coun. Simon Lawand disagreed, saying he didn’t think $5,000 is too much to ask – just once – but also expressed concern about potential unforeseen cost overruns that may lead to further requests for funding in the future.
“I’m tucked between a rock and a hard place, and that doesn’t happen a lot with me,” said Coun. Bryan Knight “I applaud what you accomplished so far. We should wait until our budget to discuss it more.” Knight also suggested council do a feasibility and needs study on the shelter, “so we can sit down as a group and discuss it further in camera.”
McPhee told council there are several milestones the board hopes to reach for Viola’s Place. These include a purchase of the old Life Shelter building, on Marsh Street in New Glasgow, by April 31; the re-establishment of the shelter and breakfast programs by May 30; having delivery and outreach services established by June 15 and having long-term rooms established at the shelter by late July.
During the presentation to council, McPhee explained that the goal of Viola’s Place is to be more than just a homeless shelter.
“We want to convert it to a livable space we can rent out at an affordable price,” said McPhee, referencing that the shelter only occupies a portion of the building, and that there is potential to develop rented living spaces. McPhee added that the rentable living spaces would serve as a revenue stream for the shelter as it goes forward.
McPhee stated that the board of directors is still waiting for a response on the funding requested from Westville – the matter is before the town’s financial department. They are also waiting on a response from Trenton and working with the CAO of the Town of Pictou on the matter.
According to McPhee, New Glasgow confirmed it can provide the amount asked, but requires a structural evaluation and several other conditions to be met first. The Municipality of Pictou County has already provided the $8,000 it was asked, while funding has also been raised through other avenues, such as community groups, local businesses, fundraising, banks and individual donors.
