Frontenac County Council - Oct. 30

Jeff Green | Nov 01, 2012

Seniors' housing report draws mixed reactions at county

At one point during a comprehensive report on the prospects for a county-sponsored seniors' housing pilot project in Frontenac County, Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle presaged the ultimate response from Council, when he interrupted the presentation briefly, saying, “Excuse me, but how much longer is this going to go on?”

When the presentation did end, Doyle was quick to condemn it for being focused on one part of the County. “We have a Highway 38-centric proposal in front of us. I'd suggest we've got a project here that South and Central Frontenac should get together and decide what to do with,” he said.

The final report by SHS and ReFact Consulting is the culmination of a 6-month-long study whose goal was to analyse the housing needs of seniors in Frontenac County, and to propose and provide costing for a pilot project that the county could bring to fruition.

Social housing in Frontenac County is administered by the housing department of the City of Kingston according to a local services realignment agreement that was reached at the time of municipal amalgamation in 1998.

A portion of municipal taxes are paid by the county to the city, and the city provides funding support to not-for profit corporations in the county, such as the Loughborough Housing Corporation (Sydenham) and North Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing (Sharbot Lake).

This latest study was intended to add to the stock of lower cost housing for seniors in Frontenac County. Recent census information has again confirmed that the population of Frontenac County is ageing faster than the provincial average (the senior population was 15.6% in 2006 and is projected to reach 27.1% by 2036)

There is also a relatively large number of poorer seniors in Frontenac County. Fifteen percent of county residents who were 75 years or older and 10% of seniors between 65 and 75 had an income of under $18,200 per year.

These factors, and others related to ageing, have rendered the stock of housing in the county insufficient for the needs of many of the current and future seniors in the county.

When they were asked as part of the study, a large proportion of seniors expressed a desire to remain living in rural locations as they aged, rather than moving to an urban centre.

Before discussing models for a pilot project, the study concluded that for more remote areas of the county, such as North Frontenac and parts of Central and South Frontenac, “a bricks and mortar solution may not be sustainable at this time” and proposed instead that the county advocate for an expansion to homecare services and to home adaptation and retrofit programs “to assist in addressing the needs of seniors to age in place in more remote areas of the county.”

In presenting the study, the consultants acknowledged that ageing at home supports are provided by the Southeast Local Health Integration Network (LHINS) and the county can do no more than lobby for more services.

The study then provided costing information for three different kinds of housing pilot projects, identifying three communities as likely locations for such projects: Sydenham, Verona and Sharbot Lake.

Model One is a new 20-unit single-storey affordable rent project. The estimated up front costing for this proposal is $3.8 million.

Model Two is a 20-unit conversion or renovation of an existing building (i.e. a surplus school). The estimated cost for this model is $2.2 million.

Model Three is for an assisted living facility that provides independent living but also meals and housekeeping services for residents. For an 8-unit facility the estimated cost for construction is $1.4 million

The study proposes that the county form a task force or committee to explore what kind of project the county would like to bring to fruition, and what role the county would like to play.

The county role could range from providing waivers/reductions in building fees and development charges, reducing taxes, contributing municipal land or surplus buildings, providing low interest loans, or direct capital funding.

While Frontenac Islands Mayor Doyle was clearly unhappy with the report, saying it excluded Frontenac Islands and North Frontenac, Warden Gutowski called the study “extensive and complete” and said it “provided something for everyone”.

The report was received for information and a decision on future steps may come as part of budget deliberations for the 2013 county budget, which begin this month.