City staff have advised Guelph City Council that the city should not provide a temporary encampment for the homeless as it falls outside the scope of the city's mandate and would cause additional budget pressures.
The report was released late Thursday afternoon, prepared by the office of the city's CAO for council.
The item is on the agenda for the next committee of the whole meeting May 15. Delegations are permitted.
The report was also sent to the County of Wellington's Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee as an information item. It is the county that shoulder's the official responsibility for social housing in the city and county.
"Staff do not recommend taking any further action on the provision of a temporary structured encampment site as this is outside the scope of the City of Guelph’s mandated municipal services, is not recommended by our CMSM (consolidated municipal services manager, ie: the county), and would have to be funded as a discretionary social service creating additional budget pressures.
The report states that there is currently no funding allocated for such a project in the 2024-2027 multi-year budget for this service and no grant funding opportunities from other levels of government.
Staff said that an encampment of 50 modular units would have up-front costs of $2.5 million and ongoing operating costs estimated to be in the range of $40,000 to $50,000 per unit annually, or another $2 million to $2.5 million per year for 50 units.
The city announced on March 25 that it was looking for a private landowner to host a tiny homes encampment.
The Guelph Tiny Homes Coalition, a group of private citizens, are also looking for a private land donation for the same purpose.
"Although the city continues its work on the development of more affordable housing options, the responsibility for the delivery of homelessness and housing stability services lies with the County of Wellington as Guelph’s Consolidated Municipal Services Manager (CMSM).
City staff had been instructed to look into a variety of elements of establishing a temporary encampment, including city-owned property where it would fit a variety of criteria.
The report says there are four city parks near the downtown core that fit the criteria, but did not name them.
As for private land offers, the report says that "after a review of private land submissions, staff determined there were no suitable submissions to bring forward."
As for organizations and institutions that would be needed to provide the necessary supports for the encampment, "it was noted that no single service provider has the capacity with current staffing and financial resources to be the sole operator of a 24/7 temporary structured encampment site."
