Mayor Debra Button, Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Dustin Duncan and Weyburn Housing Advisory Board chair Pastor Jay Mowchenko recently announced a major, multi-pronged initiative to provide more affordable housing in the Weyburn area.
"This is one of the costs of the economic growth that we've seen all over Saskatchewan," said Mayor Button. "In cities all over the province, you get these odd situations where there are plenty of jobs, but people can't take them because they can't find a place to live. In Weyburn, we are determined to tackle this problem."
The housing initiative consists of four main initiatives. The first is the Assisted Home Ownership Program (AHOP). Offered in partnership with the provincial government, this program helps modest-income families own their homes by providing matching municipal/provincial grants to assist with the cost of a down payment on a new home. The City has set aside in reserve $150,000 for this program to fund 30 applicants in 2012.
The Secondary Suite Program is the result of a new Weyburn city bylaw, allowing the construction of secondary suites in private homes. Homeowners can access a provincial grant of up to 50 per cent of the cost to renovate an area into a secondary suite to maximum of $30,000.
With the Rental Construction Initiative, the City will provide a five year tax incentive (to a maximum of $5,000 per unit) for the construction of new apartment rental housing. This incentive will be matched by a provincial grant for a maximum grant of $10,000 per door. The City has already approved the construction of 24 units under this program.
The establishment of the AHOP program also makes the City eligible to access the Headstart on a Home Program. This provincial program provides low-rate financing for construction costs to approved developers who are planning to build entry-level housing such as townhouses.
"This is an aggressive program, no doubt," said Button. "Affordable housing is a tough problem that needs a tough approach. We are grateful for the support we've received from the provincial government in developing this suite of solutions. With everyone working together, we will be able to make sure that everyone in the Weyburn area is able to enjoy the growth and prosperity of the region."
Jay Mowchenko, head pastor of the Weyburn Free Methodist Church, has been working unofficially with Mayor Button for nearly two years on this initiative, even though the WHA board was not officially appointed until January of 2011.
"It's a real honour and privilege to be able to contribute to a solution to something that certainly is very close to my heart," said Mowchenko. "People need a place to live."
"The first year that we were working, it didn't feel like we weren't accomplishing anything," he said. "But then this week, (City Manager) Bob Smith gave us a presentation of all of the development that is both occurring and planned for the City. I'm still kind of in shock at the amount of building and the amount of development that's both taking place and planned for our little city, the scale is really quite incredible."
"One of the goals of putting the Committee together was to get a cross-section of all of the different players in the housing industry," said Mowchenko, "so that we would get a good idea of what things look like from all around. This has been a massive education for me and, I think, for many of us, to see what it looks like from different perspectives."
"We know that housing has been a challenge over the past number of years," said Dustin Duncan. "We've hosted a housing summit a couple of years ago and out of that came an action plan and some of these programs."
"The Mayor has already said that this is an aggressive plan for the City and I think it is, but I think they have the right group here to meet the challenge," he said.
"There are few cities that can match the leadership that is taking place here at the municipal level," Duncan added. "I can't say enough about the work of the Advisory Committee and about her Worship."
The 2012 Housing Advisory Committee members are Donna Wolfe of Sun Country Health Region, Mayor Debra Button, Martino Verhaeghe of the City of Weyburn, Jeff Chessall of the Chamber of Commerce, John Hulbert of JH Construction, Lieutenant Mike Mailman of the Salvation Army, Mike Weger of NSWB, Myron Fletcher of the Weyburn Housing Authority, Cam Weber of the Community Low Income Centre, Jay Mowchenko as Facilitator, Winston Bailey of City Council, Theresa Girardin of Mental Health, Robert Smith of the City and Daniel Alexce of the Weyburn Credit Union.
