ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: July 5, 1999
Author/Local: Rick Gates/6036
RTS No. 808

CC File No. 2005

CS&B: July 22, 1999

TO:	Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM:	Director of Community Services, Social Planning
SUBJECT:	Capital Grant Request - Bridge Housing Society for Women

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council cancel the Capital Grant of $152,355 to Bridge Housing Society, approved on July 9, 1996;

CONSIDERATION

B. THAT Council approve a Capital Grant of $152,355 to the Bridge Housing Society for Women to help fund the construction of a new facility for the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, in conjunction with the development of the Bridge Housing project. The source of funds for this grant is the City-owned Social Service Facilities component of the 1996 Basic Capital Budget, specifically the grant referred to in Recommendation A;
OR

C. THAT Council approve a Capital Grant of $75,000 to the Bridge Housing Society for Women to help fund the construction of a new facility for the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, in conjunction with the development of the Bridge Housing project. The source of funds for this grant is the City-owned Social Service Facilities component of the 1996 Basic Capital Budget, specifically the grant referred to in Recommendation A.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services submits this report for CONSIDERATION.

POLICY

It is Council policy to support the development of new and improved community facilities to serve the needs of Vancouver residents. Provision of such facilities in the Downtown Eastside is a City priority.

City Council has established two sources of capital funding for social service facilities and two different processes for accessing this funding: one for facilities that are owned by the City, and one for those that are not.

Approval of a grant requires 8 affirmative votes.

PURPOSE

This report responds to a request from the Bridge Housing Society for a capital grant to help build a new social service facility that will be operated by the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre.

BACKGROUND

The Bridge Housing Society, in partnership with the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, proposes to develop an eight storey 47-unit non-market housing project with a social service centre on the ground floor. The project will be built on a site at 100 East Cordova.

The Women's Centre is currently located in inadequate premises on the ground floor of the City-owned and operated Central Residence at 44 East Cordova, half a block west of the new site. The Centre provides general advocacy and referrals, support and crisis intervention, monthly programmed activities and a drop-in centre that offers free clothing, showers, laundry and lunch to Downtown Eastside women. The Centre currently pays rent to the City of $690 per month, or $8,280 per year. This is offset by a 1999 Community Services Rent Subsidy Grant in the amount of $4,500. The Women's Centre has an annual operating budget of approximately $745,000. Funding comes from a variety of sources, including a 1999 Community Services Grant of $55,000.

This project, originally approved by Council in 1996, was to have been built on City-owned land with a 60 year lease for the housing component and a shorter, but renewable lease to the Women's Centre. The shorter lease would enable the City to ensure that the facility could continue to be used to provide social services in the unlikely, but possible, event that the Women's Centre ceases to function.

On July 9, 1996, City Council approved a Capital Grant of $152,355 to the Bridge Housing Society for Women to help fund construction of the Women's Centre. The grant was conditional on the Society raising sufficient funds to enable completion of the first phase of the project. Council also approved the transfer of $57,645 from the City-owned Social Services Facilities Budget to the Property Endowment Fund to pay for the Women's Centre's prorated share of the prepaid land rent.

In September 1997, when the City's purchase and sale agreement for the site was in its final stages of drafting, B.C. Housing offered to purchase the site instead of the City. Since this would free up the City's 25% writedown which could then be spent on another non-market project which required City assistance, the City agreed with the change. But, as is explained below, the change in ownership caused problems with regard the City's capital grant for the Women's Centre.

CITY CAPITAL GRANTS PROGRAM

The City has two separate capital funding budgets for social service facilities - one for those that are City-owned, and one for those that are not. The budget for City-owned facilities is considerable larger than the other one, and grants from it typically range from $100,000 up to a million dollars or more. The City, in these instances, is investing in its own infrastructure and retains considerable control over the use of the facility.

Capital Grants for the development or renovation of facilities that are not owned by the City are evaluated and approved under a fairly detailed set of criteria established by Council. The annual budget for these grants is $200,000 or less, and individual grants range from a few hundred dollars to as much as $75,000, with most being in the $10-20,000 range. Each year there are applications for larger grants to support large projects, but these are consistently rejected, primarily because of the budget.

OPTIONS

The Women's Centre project meets the criteria for funding under either capital budget, and therefore we are recommending that a grant be given. However, there are good arguments for either of two different grant amounts.

1. Approve a grant of $152,355, equal to the amount approved in 1996. This is a littleless than the $180,000 requested (see Appendix A), but it should not impede completion of the project.

The major concern with this option is that it results in a grant that is more than double the maximum amount given in recent years for other capital projects that are not City-owned. Many of the other projects that are not City-owned have been as high a priority as this one, and the need has been as great. Approval of a grant of this size for a project that is not City-owned would be a significant departure from past practice and could set up unrealistic expectations in the non-profit social services sector.

On the other hand, the money has already been approved, and the current Capital Grants budget for other projects that are not City-owned will not be affected. The Bridge Housing Society has been proceeding with this project as if the full approved grant would be available. From their perspective, the change in ownership is a minor technicality that is not affecting the rest of the project.

2. Approve a grant of $75,000, which approximates the maximum given in recent years for projects that are not City-owned.

A grant of this amount would result in more equitable treatment with other, similar non-City-owned projects. A capital grant of this size represents the upper limit of grants for projects that are not City-owned, and, as such, is a significant indication of support for the project from the City.

On a 1.2 million dollar project, approving a grant of $75,000 should not drastically affect the viability of the project. It could, however, result in a reduction in finished, useable space that may adversely affect the ability to meet program and service needs.

CONCLUSION

In 1996, City Council approved a Capital Grant to help pay for the development of a new facility for The Downtown Eastside Women's Centre. However, this grant was not spent, and in the meantime, the ownership of the property changed hands. This change in ownership changes the type of capital grant that can be given and the policies and practises pertaining to it.

This project is eligible for a Capital Grant, and staff are recommending that one be given. However, there are good arguments (pro and con) for two different grant amounts. Consequently, staff are presenting both options to Council.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver