City pursues “shovel-ready” status for housing project … plus more local news

You’re reading the September 17, 2024 edition of the Peterborough Currents email newsletter. To receive our email newsletters straight to your inbox, sign up here.

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Good morning, and welcome to the Peterborough Currents newsletter, where we share our latest stories and catch you up on local news.

Earlier this year, Peterborough Currents broke a story about the local hospital. We reported that the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) was suing an architecture firm for $30 million over the hospital’s leaky roof.

Today, I have an update to that story. The architecture firm has filed its statement of defence, where it denies the hospital’s allegations and attempts to shift the blame elsewhere.

As a local news reporter, I keep an eye out for court cases that the public might have a stake in. This story is a good example of why that’s important. If it weren’t for Peterborough Currents, you might not know there is a court battle underway that could decide whether corporations or taxpayers end up footing the bill to repair the hospital’s roof.

Peterborough Currents is fundraising this week. Our goal is to gain 50 new monthly supporters. If you believe in the importance of local journalism, please join us as a supporter now.

Okay, now let’s get to the news.

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Architecture firm not to blame for PRHC’s leaky roof, lawyers argue

Lawyers for Stantec Architecture Ltd. are denying allegations that the firm is responsible for the Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s leaky roof, which according to PRHC is so damaged it may need to be completely replaced.

PRHC filed a lawsuit against Stantec, the firm that designed the hospital, in December 2023. The lawsuit sought $30 million in damages.

In response, Stantec’s lawyers submitted a statement of defence in June that denied all the allegations against the company and asked that the case be dismissed.

Court documents reveal that PRHC has been aware of the leaks in its roof since at least 2019, when the hospital launched a separate lawsuit over the matter. That claim targeted a different defendant: the general contractor that oversaw PRHC’s construction, EllisDon Corporation. The suit also named a subcontractor and the manufacturer of the roofing components. All of the defendants have denied the allegations against them.

Want to learn more? Check out this new story on the Peterborough Currents website.

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Greenhouse gas emissions increased slightly in 2022

By Will Pearson

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Peterborough increased slightly in 2022, according to new reports that will be received by the Peterborough Environmental Advisory Committee this week.

The reports include the city’s annual estimates of GHGs produced by the city’s own operations and those produced by the broader community in 2022. Altogether, emissions rose by about one percent between 2021 and 2022.

Of the city’s own operations, the biggest contributor of greenhouse gases in 2022 was the landfill, which produces biogases as organic materials decompose. That’s set to improve once the impact of Peterborough’s new municipal composting program takes effect, according to one of the reports. The next biggest contributor of municipal GHGs is the city’s transit fleet, which has yet to be electrified. 

But the municipality’s own operations only account for about 4 percent of total GHGs produced in Peterborough. The rest of the emissions are produced by the broader community, which comprises the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors in addition to emissions from transportation. Of those, transportation was the biggest contributor of GHGs in Peterborough in 2022. 

While emissions increased in 2022, GHGs in Peterborough have fallen over the longer term, according to the reports. Emissions have dropped by about 18 percent compared to the 2011 base year, the reports state. 

Still, Peterborough is not currently on track to meet its target of reducing emissions by 45 percent from 2011 levels by 2030. That’s mostly due to anticipated increases in community sector emissions in the near term, according to projections included in the reports.

(Read the report on municipal GHGs here and read the report on community GHGs here.)

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Councillors vote to extend modular housing timeline, but defer decision on site expansion

By Will Pearson

At a committee meeting last night, city councillors approved a recommendation to allow the Wolfe Street modular housing community to remain at its current location beyond November 2025, funding permitting.

The Wolfe Street project provides sleeping cabins and other supports to dozens of people experiencing homelessness and was recently recognized with a Municipal Innovation Award from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

When councillors first approved the modular housing project last year, they stipulated that it should remain at the Wolfe Street site for only 18 to 24 months. That timeline was introduced to address concerns from neighbours who were opposed to the project being installed near their homes.

Now, the site should operate beyond that time limit, councillors voted last night. 

“We’re kind of going back on our word,” said Coun. Kevin Duguay. “But we don’t have another home [for the modular cabins] at the moment.”

Of the ten councillors present, Dave Haacke was the only one to vote against the timeline extension. He said he’d like to move the cabins to a site on the edge of the city, or perhaps close to the airport. “The promise was that it would be there 18 to 24 months, that it was temporary,” Haacke said.

But Coun. Joy Lachica said moving the modular cabins would be costly and inadvisable considering the city’s current budget crunch. “We don’t have any other solutions just yet,” Lachica said.

Meanwhile, councillors also considered a recommendation from staff to spend about $1 million to purchase up to 16 new cabins to expand the site. But they voted — unanimously — to defer that decision to another time.

Mayor Jeff Leal recently told Peterborough Currents that he’d like to explore the idea of installing sleeping cabins built by the volunteer group PATH at the Wolfe Street site, but he didn’t bring that idea up last night.

Both votes at last night’s committee meeting aren’t final — they will be revisited for a final time at next week’s city council meeting.

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Councillors approve more studies for PHC redvelopment

By Will Pearson

Also at last night’s committee meeting, councillors approved a recommendation from staff to spend $1.6 million to complete the necessary studies and design work to achieve “shovel-ready” status for a proposed redevelopment of 1190 Hilliard Street — a rent-geared-to-income townhouse complex owned by the Peterborough Housing Corporation.

The idea is to tear the townhouses down and build a 10-storey apartment building in their place to increase the supply of affordable housing. PHC and the city have envisioned such a redevelopment for years, but still haven’t finalized the plans or applied for funding to carry them out.

The city hasn’t budgeted for the full construction costs of the redevelopment, and a report to councillors said that even with the federal funding that’s currently available, the project faces a $16 million shortfall.

But councillors voted to continue the design work anyway. The hope is that new provincial or federal funding will become available and that, with a “shovel-ready” project, the city would be in a good position to obtain that funding.

“We have to rely on optimism to get these projects ready,” said Gillian Barnes, the city’s director of facilities and property management.

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