Kikinahk Friendship Centre purchased the Waterbase Inn for about $1.7 million. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

housing

Kikinahk plans to utilize Waterbase Inn as homeless shelter without municipal support

Apr 25, 2024 | 12:00 PM

Editor’s Note: A statement from Kikinahk released after this article was published says the organization will no longer purchase the Waterbase Inn “because the required conditions were not met.”

“The Kikinahk Board is committed to doing all we can to help our most vulnerable population in our community and we will continue to explore alternative options for a homeless shelter.”

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Although Kikinahk Friendship Centre lacks support from La Ronge council to operate a homeless shelter at the Waterbase Inn, leadership of the organization seems ready to move ahead with that plan.

During a public hearing held at a regular meeting on Tuesday, Kikinahk executive director Ron Woytowich made the surprise announcement that the organization has already purchased the building and plans to operate it as a free motel. Woytowich explained they still wanted support from council to access mental health and addiction funding from the provincial government.

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Kikihahk received nearly $2 million from the federal government for the project with $1.7 million earmarked to purchase Waterbase Inn. The remainder of those funds would be used for closing and lawyer fees, as well as for operations.

“That’s my intention,” Woytowich said about operating the Waterbase Inn as a free motel without council support.

“We are going to have to have a board meeting. I receive direction like everybody else does and every step of the way I dealt with my own board and we worked out what I can and can’t do. This was something we did prior to the end of March in order to meet the deadline for the last fiscal year. Unless I hear different, that’s what we are going to go ahead with. If they want to challenge us, my opinion and it is only my opinion, is I think ultimately if they charge us, we’re going to be in court.”

According to town administration, council had prepared a zoning bylaw amendment in response to Kikinahk’s desire to run a shelter year-round at the Waterbase Inn located in the Shoreline Commercial District. If approved, an owner of a property in those districts could apply to council to operate a shelter. As a discretionary use, council could then approve or deny specific applications to allow a shelter to exist.

Before approving the zoning bylaw amendment, council removed the part of the bylaw that would have allowed a temporary shelter service as a discretionary use in the Shoreline Commercial District, but retained the same provision for the Highway Commercial District. Given the approved amendment did not allow for a discretionary use application for a shelter in the shoreline district, the application from Kikinahk regarding the Waterbase Inn was null and void.

Woytowich explained the Waterbase Inn would have been an ideal location because it would provide clients with their own rooms and washing room facilities, as well as the building having a kitchen, laundry services, and room for expansion to support increased social services. He noted the current facility is too small and doesn’t meet standards when it comes to providing the homeless population with the services they need to succeed.

“Unless I receive other direction, it’s still going ahead as a homeless shelter,” Woytowich said. “I really believe we need all those other services otherwise we will have those people not improving their lives.”

La Ronge Mayor Joe Hordyski said he hopes the situation doesn’t come down to bylaw enforcement as he believes Kikinahk’s agreement with the federal government doesn’t override the municipality’s ability to control zoning.

“I am certainly going to reach out and see if there is a way to salvage the agreement he has with the federal government to possibly put it in another facility,” Hordyski said.

“I think there is another option that is out there. I won’t elaborate on that at this point, but it would certainly be nice to have those conversations as well with the provincial government because there seems to be some agreement to have some funding available through social services.”

Hordyski noted converting the Waterbase Inn into a homeless shelter would eliminate 20 per cent of the town’s lodging accommodations. He also added some concerns having that kind of facility in the area would bring about public safety concerns.

“I will be there in terms of being there to support another site, as well as to reach out to the tri-community because it is not a La Ronge problem,” Hordyski said.

“We should be talking to the province about the people coming out of the northern communities and taking advantage of the services we are providing here. It’s a bigger discussion that needs to happen and I will certainly be reaching out and trying to get that together.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com