Regional committee approves supervised consumption site in Kitchener despite mayor's objection

The region's community services committee approved a supervised consumption site at 150 Duke St. W., in Kitchener, but the city's mayor says city council may not support that decision.

Mayor Berry Vrbanovic wanted to amend a motion at the committee meeting Tuesday to change the preferred location from 150 Duke St. W., to the location at 105 Victoria St. N. That site is currently an empty lot and would require a new building.

He told the committee he spoke with all members of city council to get a sense of which site they supported.

"At this point, council is unanimous in their support for Weber and Victoria in terms of the one-on-one conversations that I had in an effort to inform myself as the link between this council and city council on this issue," he said.

Kitchener will hold a special council meeting on Monday to discuss the issue. The time is still to be determined.

In an email to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo after Tuesday's meeting, Vrbanovic said the meeting on Monday is meant to "move things along and not delay things any longer."

"That way Kitchener council would have a clear position on the table before the region makes a final decision," he said. Regional council meets again on April 17.

Vrbanovic added, "Kitchener has participated in the process in a meaningful way from the beginning, wanting to move this forward, and was the only one in the region to do so."

'Maybe Kitchener residents needed to scream and yell more'

Staff said in a report that the Victoria Street N., location would take 18 to 24 months to get operational and could cost $1.25 million in capital funds. Staff also indicated when they asked the province if it would pay for a building, the province said there's no policy but the province hadn't yet paid to build a site.

The decision is made by the community services committee because it also serves as the region's board of health.

During the meeting, Kitchener Coun. Geoff Lorentz said he did not support moving the site location.

"I guess I'm just a little miffed because we selected these three sites a number of months ago, we had intense public discussion and public consultation on them and it seemed to me, clearly, the majority supported 150 Duke," he said.

"I think they [city council] have to explain why they don't like that," he said.

Regional Chair Karen Redman said the location at Victoria Street and Weber Street was "not particularly attractive" and there are concerns people wouldn't use it because it's so visable.

"My concern about the 105 Victoria Street is the fact that it's the first thing you see when you get off the GO train," she added.

She said the site at 150 Duke St. W., allowed for expansion and space for wraparound services.

Coun. Jim Erb said the region needed to make a decision soon.

"As leaders in the community, we need to realize that the more this goes back and forth, the longer the stigma continues and that is not fair to the people we are trying to serve and their families," he said. "Time is up. We need to make a decision."

Vrbanovic said the vacant lot at Victoria and Weber could be home to portable buildings which would be a cheaper option. He urged his fellow councillors to consider Kitchener council's viewpoint.

"Clearly, we're hearing Cambridge's concerns. Maybe Kitchener residents needed to scream and yell more," he said.

Vrbanovic, Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky, Wilmot Mayor Les Armstrong, North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton and Cambridge Coun. Helen Jowett voted in favour of amending to motion to change the preferred site to 105 Victoria St. N. The 10 other councillors in attendance voted against the amendment and it failed.

The committee voted in favour of moving forward with the location at 150 Duke St. W.

The committee also voted in favour of a motion to remove 150 Main St. in Cambridge from the list of possible locations and to have regional staff continue to work with city officials to find other locations "in as timely a manner as possible."

As well, councillors voted unanimously in favour of another amendment by Vrbanovic that asked staff to look into ways to get a temporary supervised consumption site up and running in two months. That report is due to come back to the next community services committee meeting, which is on April 30.