Title
Meridian Housing Foundation
Proposed Motion
1. That Council reject the Meridian Housing Foundation 2020 capital funding request.
2. That Administration proceed with terminating the agreement with all applicable parties, giving adequate notice as required, with the intent to renegotiate terms.
Body
Administration Recommendation
Administration supports the proposed motions.
Purpose
This allows Parkland County to comply with the interpretation of the applicable legislation and mandate from the Ministry of Seniors and Housing. This will also allow Parkland County to protect its interests.
Giving formal notice is the first step in renegotiating terms of a new agreement.
Summary
A 2019 governance review was conducted by Meridian Housing Foundation (MHF) that raised several concerns for Parkland County:
Parkland County has been significantly impacted by external parties in the past number of years. To ensure the balance sheet remains strong, that long term liabilities are managed accordingly, and that its residents and business have the ability to recover from a long standing recession, Parkland has undertook three consecutive years of pairing down the business, including a recent layoff of 30 staff. This was to align our income statement costs to the revenue, to ensure the balance sheet stays strong. This is all about ensuring that we stay competitive and not burden our residents with undue pressures from taxation. Parkland was doing red tape reduction long before the provincial election in 2019 due to necessity and the vision of council to be lean, agile, nimble and customer focused. There are numerous different ways to fund housing, but the current methodology the MHF is proposing is fraught with risk and against the policy of Parkland County. There appears to be a significant disconnect in the understanding of the available capacity of the region to fund new capital, and the impact it will have on the sustainability of its residents. The ask of MHF i...
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