The Blue Mountains Attainable Housing Corporation has taken its first steps towards a redefined future.
The corporation’s new board of directors held its first meeting as a group on March 13 to begin the process of determining the future of the organization. The new board consists of 10 members of The Blue Mountains staff, along with Mayor Andrea Matrosovs and Coun. Shawn McKinlay.
Late last year the town took over responsibility for managing the housing corporation after the volunteer directors chose not to seek reelection at the corporation’s annual general meeting. Town staff have been temporarily appointed to the board of directors in order to prepare a report to council outlining the possibilities for the future role of the corporation.
CAO Shawn Everitt will serve as the board chair and acting director of finance and treasurer Sam Dinsmore is the corporation’s financial manager. Carrie Fairley from the clerk’s department has been selected as director/secretary. They are joined by town staffers: Nicholas Cloet, Cat Cooper, Erica Dudley, Marco Hinds, Morgan May, Mylene McDermid and Carter Triana.
Town staff appointed to the board were asked to express an interest in the role and were required to be renting or in the market to rent or purchase a home in the local area.
Everitt said the board will spend the next several months determining recommendations to make to council for the future mandate and direction for the housing corporation. The goal is to deliver a report to council at its committee of the whole meeting on June 10.
“What makes the best sense, the most efficiency and what is the best way we can get attainable opportunities in the municipality,” Everitt said.
The CAO said the goal is to “identify a clear mandate and scope” for the corporation.
“Does it make sense for Blue Mountains Attainable Housing Corporation to continue as is?” Everitt said. “Can the town internalize?”
In a report, Everitt recommended the board take a look at several options for the corporation’s future role including:
- Taking responsibility for a Secondary Suite Assistance Program to encourage an increase in rental stock in the town.
- Potential for using the funding raised through property tax sales to provide funding to the Community Improvement Plan (CIP) for the specific purposes of Housing Incentive Programs.
- Potential of the town retaining properties acquired through property tax sales where appropriate.
- Formalizing volunteer contributions that developers can provide in lieu of the provision of affordable and/or attainable housing.
- Developing and maintaining a formal annual living wage document for The Blue Mountains.
Everitt employed a round-table style discussion during the meeting. The topics raised included: Grey County’s role in creating a housing strategy for the region, tiny home communities and how they could be encouraged, town-wide zoning reforms to encourage different forms of housing, how to ensure any affordable housing built in the town remains in that category and a plan to invite officials from the town’s building and planning departments to come to a future meeting to educate the new board about current policies in place.
The discussion also included the staff directors sharing their own stories and struggles to find affordable and rental housing in the local community.
