Charity seeks more funds for homeless shelter, fire marshal's order delays opening

The fire marshal has ordered a Moncton charity to file architectural drawings for provincial approval before opening a new homeless shelter.

The order comes as House of Nazareth seeks money from three levels of government to cover "cost overruns" and pay for contractors to get the shelter open.

Jean Dubé, the charity's executive director, told Moncton city council on Monday the group used volunteers to save money on some of the renovations at the former gym on Albert Street. He said it's now hired architects and a project manager to oversee the work.

"We realized this baby is bigger than we thought," Dubé said when pressed by Coun. Shawn Crossman on why the steps weren't taken earlier. "There's a lot of regulations attached to that that we didn't anticipate.

"After discussion with the city and the province, I guess we learned a lot from it and I chalk it up to that. But from now on, we're going to be moving forward with a general contractor, an architect and all the experts in the field to do the work."

Dubé said in May a 120-bed shelter would be partially open Aug. 1 and fully open by November. He later said the shelter would have up to 180 beds.

Brian Parker, a fire prevention officer with the Moncton fire department — who carries out fire marshal office duties in the city — said an order was issued Aug. 8. He said the shelter's bed count will depend on a determination by the fire marshal's office.

Dubé said the drawings will be assessed to determine whether the shelter's plans meet building codes, if there are sufficient exits and other safety measures.

It's not clear how long that will take. After missing the August opening date, Dubé would only commit to opening the shelter in 2019.

Once open, the city has said a homeless tent camp where about 45 people live on Albert Street, will be dismantled. 

127 sleeping outside

Lisa Ryan, a member of the Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee, told reporters she doubts whether the Albert Street shelter will open until late fall or early winter.

"From what we've seen thus far, I am not overly confident in the timelines that have been given," Ryan said. 

She's worried what that will mean for the 127 people counted sleeping outside in the city this summer. The city's two shelters each have 40 to 50 people staying overnight, which is at or near their capacity. 

News that about 120 people were sleeping outside late last summer prompted the city and province to open an emergency out-of-the-cold shelter last winter at a former fire hall on Assumption Boulevard.

That shelter, which Ryan helped run, closed in April with the expectation a new shelter would be running before the coming winter.

The Albert Street property was purchased for $775,000 in March with $480,000 in joint federal and provincial funding. Demolition work began after the charity took possession at the end of June.

'Not rocket science'

The new details about the shelter delay and bed-count uncertainty came out as part of testy exchanges between city councillors and Dubé. Coun. Charles Léger repeatedly pushed Dubé on how many beds the shelter would have.

"It's not rocket science," Léger said to Dubé, who stood at a podium in city council chambers with his arms crossed. 

Léger said he shouldn't give out bed count estimates and should wait for the fire marshal's official figure.  

"If you have a better solution, you're welcome to come over and give it to us," Dubé said, sometimes waving his finger at Léger. 

The agenda for Monday's council meeting originally said councillors would consider a funding request from House of Nazareth for the shelter. But that was removed Monday morning. 

The city manager told council the charity hadn't provided a letter requesting funding on time. Dubé said he needs to get approval from the charity's board of directors before the request is submitted. 

Dubé would not say how much he's seeking from the city, provincial and federal governments. Several councillors indicated a willingness to provide funding if it is requested, though wanted additional information.