A pilot program embedded in the provincial budget rolled out Tuesday (March 26) is going to have a direct impact on Central Elgin and Elgin county.
Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Rob Flack explains what is behind the Site Preparation Pilot Program.
“What I’m really excited about is the province has set aside close to $100 million over three years through what is called the Site Preparation Pilot Program.
“It is to re-purpose surplus sites. And those sites include the former St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital.
“So, we’re getting ready to develop that and put houses in and roofs over people’s heads.”
Other than serving as the backdrop for the odd movie, the former psych hospital has sat empty for years.
Opened in 1939, the psychiatric hospital was replaced in 2013 by the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health located immediately to the north.
Flack stresses the land will remain in the Municipality of Central Elgin, as opposed to the hundreds of acres of industrial land in Central Elgin that was transferred to the City of St. Thomas for its Yarmouth Yards industrial park.
“It’s in Central Elgin, so the land will remain in Central Elgin which will support Central Elgin and Elgin county.
“It’s kind of a waste. I think it costs the province a little under a million dollars a year just to keep it sitting there, the grass cut, whatever.”
He adds the re-purposing of the property will bring much-needed housing to Central Elgin to support industrial development, particularly the PowerCo EV battery plant and other tenants of Yarmouth Yards.
“Re-purposing this land is going to complement the economic growth we’re seeing in Elgin county.
“And again, that supports Elgin county as well. As these sites are developed and housing is built, we’re going to help support with infrastructure and, most importantly, it’s going to create a tax base for Elgin county.”
Flack explains the province is in the process of determining the next steps.
“The RFP (request for proposal) isn’t determined yet. We have to get the site prepared first and then we’re in the works of determining what the next steps are.
“But they will be forthcoming pretty quickly.”
“I don’t know the answer to that. All I’ve heard is anecdotal about the heritage designation but I think they (the province) is looking into that.”
Central Elgin Mayor Andrew Sloan advised he knew little about the pilot program.
“When I first assumed the job (as mayor) there had always been talk about the psychiatric hospital. What the money does is give the province the opportunity to prep that land for residential development.
“Rob (Flack) was quite pleased that it would have effects for Central Elgin and the county.
“Going forward, if it was cleared for development, Central Elgin and Elgin county would reap the benefits from the taxes.
“As for anything concrete like timing, he says it is a kind of wait-and-see.
“I think it is good news because we do need to address the psychiatric hospital. I think it is time for something to be done there and if this helps that, then I am all for it.”
There is the significant matter of the property being designated a heritage site.
Sloan advised, “I don’t know the answer to that. All I’ve heard is anecdotal about the heritage designation but I think they (the province) is looking into that.”
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IT’S THE RAIL DEAL
A major step in the evolution of the city’s new industrial park Yarmouth Yards comes before city council on Tuesday (April 2).
It is the awarding of the tender for a rail spur from the CN rail line south of the park into Yarmouth Yards, including a bridge to run the line over one of the internal roads.
According to Nathan Bokma, senior project manager, the spur allows for the provision of goods “to the PowerCo site and the Yarmouth Yards Industrial Subdivision.”
The tender is being awarded to Amico Infrastructures Inc. of Cambridge for $12.3 million.
With all other considerations factored in, including contingency funds, the total comes to $13.8 million.
Allocated funding is $14 million.
They were involved with the construction of Seasons Retirement Residence in St. Thomas and have undertaken site preparation work at Yarmouth Yards.
Other projects include the Hwy. 401 expansion west of Mississauga and early work on the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Windsor.
In total, seven companies bid on the project, and nine had been selected to participate.
Construction is expected to begin in April or May with completion in August of next year.
Important to keep in mind this undertaking only covers the spur into the industrial park and does not include the multi-track rail yard to the east of the PowerCo plant.
No indication of the projected cost associated with that yard.
A critical footnote from Bokma indicates “Staff have also been in discussions with CN about a spur connection agreement. Discussions have been progressing with CN and staff will report back once a connection agreement has been reached.”
Keep in mind city council not that long ago talked about legal action against CN in relation to the missing section of the rail corridor linking the Port Stanley Terminal Rail line with the CN line north to London.
No indication in the report as to where the funding is coming from but no doubt it will be drawn from that seemingly bottomless pit known as the Industrial Lands account.
A point to ponder in all of this. As Bokma notes and as has been confirmed by Mayor Joe Preston, the rail yard is to serve PowerCo and potentially attract other customers who may need rail access.
How do the goods arriving by rail at the yard to the east of PowerCo reach their final destination at a plant located elsewhere in the industrial park?
Will other rail tracks crisscross the site?
Or will goods be transloaded onto trucks for that last mile? Surely this is a costly and cumbersome option?
‘I’VE DONE COMPLICATED, IT’S COMPLICATED’
From award-winning homebuilder to an entirely new chapter in his life, Doug Tarry observes the arrival this past week of A Builders Guide to Net Zero Homes has been a four-and-a-half year journey.
Titled From Bleeding Edge to Leading Edge, the book is not so much about building a home from the ground up, but rather how homebuilders can make the world a better place.
There are plenty of how-to chapters with a heaping side order of philosophy and personal anecdotes.
Take for example some of the topic headers: “How to Lean it Out: Is Your Baby Ugly?
How about, “Cutting the Ends Off the Roast Beef.”
And all about “The Peanut Butter Incident.”
It’s far from your typical Coles Notes version of homebuilding for dummies.
Intrigued, we sat down with Tarry this past week to share in the arrival of his new baby (book, that is).
We started with the catchy title.
“It was actually in a session I did with Gord Cooke (president of Building Knowledge Canada) many years ago where we were talking about finding solutions to problems that other builders don’t even know exist because they haven’t gone down the path the way we have.
“What will we do in all-electric houses and buildings when the grid goes down? It’s not a question of if, but when.”
“They are still building to code.
“We’re not building a one-of home, this is being done at relative scale. It can be really painful when you find that problem and you are 20 houses in and I am trying to figure this out.
“So, that is the bleeding edge.
“To leading edge is where you actually can now start to monetize it, you can mass produce it. You can replicate it successfully.”
Tarry observes the industry has come a long way since he first started building homes.
“Now people are actually talking about Net Zero. And ironically about the book, although it is A Builders Guide to Net Zero Homes, but it is actually about why Net Zero is the wrong goal.
“I think we have to look beyond that, more holistically. We’re actually talking about a concept in the book called Life Ark.
“Which is, what happens when the power goes out?”
As Tarry ponders in Chapter 7, “What will we do in all-electric houses and buildings when the grid goes down?
“It’s not a question of if, but when.”
“And then how do we approach building differently once we think differently?
“That was the goal of the book.”
A Life Ark is a house or building capable of providing life support systems for the occupants in the event of an extended power outage.
It’s not the same as being off-grid.
Instead, a Life Ark has access to either a battery backup or a low-carbon backup source of energy that can be engaged if the grid goes down.
Earlier this year, Tarry and a large group of participants constructed a home at Oneida Nation of the Thames over three days that was, in fact, a prototype of a Life Ark home.
Tarry operates on the principle of two commandments.
Those are water management or moisture control and air tightness or air control.
“We really have to get to those two, before we go beyond that.”
After that come the four principles of modern design.
“Which is carbon reduction, indoor air quality, occupant comfort and climate resiliency.”
As Tarry stresses, it’s all about designing and building the 100-year home.
It’s really about why, adds Tarry. Why we have to think differently?
“And then how do we approach building differently once we think differently?
“That was the goal of the book.”
“If we build smaller homes and walkable communities and define sustainability as thinking about how plants and animals can exist beyond perfect lawn monocultural communities, then perhaps we can actually begin to create a more sustainable future.”
There is a section on Project Tiny Hope in St. Thomas, an undertaking MPP Rob Flack refers to as “the beacon of hope for all in Ontario.”
Project Tiny Hope is the joint undertaking of the YWCA St. Thomas-Elgin, Doug Tarry Homes and Sanctuary Homes for the imaginative affordable housing project at 21 Kains Street.
We understand work is to begin very shortly.
Throughout the book are anecdotes and photos of the Tarry family.
Doug Tarry’s final thoughts are worth underlining.
“I believe we need to look at our homes (and our lifestyle) to ensure that they consume less energy operationally and also reduce the total embodied carbon in our lives.
“If we build smaller homes and walkable communities and define sustainability as thinking about how plants and animals can exist beyond perfect lawn monocultural communities, then perhaps we can actually begin to create a more sustainable future.”
PUBLIC SECTOR SALARY DISCLOSURE
Earlier this month, Sandra Schulz, Director of Human Resources reported to council a summary of the 142 municipal employees who received a salary in excess of $100,000 in 2023.
The individuals were not identified, however on Friday (March 29) Schulz forwarded us a complete copy of the 2023 public sector salary disclosure document with the 142 individuals listed (up from 131 in 2022).
The top wage earner last year was outgoing city manager Sandra Datars Bere at 220,606.56 (up from $196,418 in 2022).
Other notables include St. Thomas Police Chief Marc Roskamp $209,642 (he was deputy chief in 2022).
St. Thomas Fire Chief Dave Gregory $167,440 ($158,295).
Justin Lawrence, now executive director of industrial development, $195,807 ($164,094).
Dan Sheridan, director of city finances and city treasurer, $170,976 ($160,462)
Heather Sheridan, director of social services, $160,123 ($152,956).
Lou Pompilii, director of planning and building services, $163,808 ($149,144).
Sandra Schulz, director of human resources, $161,721 ($147,333).
Maria Konefal, city clerk, ($145,780 ($140,178).
Michael Carroll, Valleyview administrator, $144,919 ($139,236).
Heather Robinson, CEO St. Thomas Public Library, $143,423 ($134,579)
Others we have not tracked in the past:
Jeff Bray $158,044, director of parks, recreation and facilities.
Kim Destun, chief fire prevention officer, $154,583.
You can access that list here City of St Thomas PSSD 2023
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