businesses near new regina shelter concerned city wavering on relief fund
mayor chad bachynski says the idea of offering compensation measures is still "on the table."
3 minute read
the front facade of the regina eagles club on halifax street, which has been purchased by the city of regina to be converted into a permanent emergency shelter, on wednesday, september 18, 2024 in regina.
kayle neis
/
regina leader-post
heritage-area business owners are questioning how much support they’ll get from the city when a new shelter opens in the neighbourhood this summer.
a group presenting at council this week expressed disappointment that council has seemingly watered down a promise to offer financial relief for their proximity to the new shelter’s location.
the previous city council approved purchasing the regina eagles club property on halifax street in september to convert into a permanent homeless shelter to replace the temporary one currently located within the nest’s building downtown.
the new shelter is on track to be ready in july, when the city’s temporary lease with the nest ends, according to a progress update presented to council’s executive committee wednesday.
miranda michell, owner of nearby pet daycare fella & fetch, said she and many others are upset the current city council moved last month to “remove” mentions of a relief fund for neighbouring businesses from the approval motion to purchase the property that passed in the fall.
“we were initially assured that financial considerations were part of the plan, but those assurances have now disappeared,” michelle told council.
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‘we want to work with the city’
in january, council amended the sub-points in the shelter’s previous approval motion that tasked administration to consult with community stakeholders “to develop a neighbourhood maintenance compensation program” for businesses within 250 metres of the shelter.
city documents indicated at least 40 businesses in the vicinity.
the program was proposed to help cover costs incurred due to the shelter’s presence, like vandalism, security measures, or even to offset revenue losses or insurance premium spikes.
january’s amendments removed direct mention of the program, replacing it with a directive to “commit to ongoing dialogue” with the public and pursue a design that considers crime prevention and creating a safe environment.
“(dialogue) is valuable, but dialogue alone does not resolve financial impacts,” said michell. “businesses need some kind of fair, predictable alternative that does not rely on discretionary approval.
“the businesses in the area are not here to oppose this initiative at all. we want to work with the city, to ensure implementation is thoughtful, proactive and considers the long-term impact on our community.”
mayor chad bachynski sits in chambers at henry baker hall during a council meeting hall on wednesday, february 12, 2025 in regina.
kayle neis
/
regina leader-post
following wednesday’s meeting, mayor chad bachynski said the amendments were recommended by administration to “open up” the wording of the directive to allow exploration of all possible types of compensatory measures.
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“it was a little bit prescriptive, and not just for the city but businesses as well,” he said of the original directive. “it is still on the table. the idea is that we have all those options on the table, so we can look at everything.”
good neighbourhood plan coming
prior to the shelter opening, administration is developing a good neighbourhood plan based on feedback gathered during six public engagement sessions held in january.
the plan will outline the role of the city, of regina treaty/status indian services as the shelter operator, and of the heritage community association as the preferred community liaison, as per public feedback.
the community association’s executive director, wendy miller, said the organization is willing to be the point-of-contact for residents, but noted it could need a city-funded full-time employee to do so.
a community-based advisory committee is also being created. it will include all three above entities plus the regina street team, the regina downtown business improvement district and regina police service.
city staff are exploring ways to deal with waste and needle pickups, back-alley lighting and safe-walking routes as well as providing street outreach patrols and overdose protocols.
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on time and budget
the shelter conversion remains on time and budget at $8 million, with renovations beginning this week, according to city administration.
a design sketch of the property the city of regina intends to convert into its first permanent emergency shelter on halifax street.
(city of regina)
a preliminary design shows the new shelter will have room for 55 beds – a bed-for-bed match of the capacity currently available at the temporary shelter. it will also have an in-house kitchen, laundry, dining room, lounge, group programming space, as well as offices, intake and treatment rooms and space for counselling services.
council has asked administration to do more public consultation ahead of the shelter’s opening and bring back another supplemental report by the end of march.
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