The Similkameen News Leader
Editorial
February 12, 2008
ANOTHER NO-BRAINER
Maybe I've been looking too hard for an answer.
You ever get to the point where you want to offer assistance, but can't seem to find the right suggestion?
The low-income, affordable housing issue is what's been bugging me for weeks. There has to be a simple solution.
I even discussed it with a business associate in Keremeos last week. Believe it or not, they are faced with the same problem in their community which is a fraction of the size of Princeton.
She did make a pretty good suggestion, though.
In her words "it's up to the 'municipality' to step up to the plate." Then they would form part of a group of players that would solve the problem by building the affordable homes or apartments that were needed in the community.
Her scenario included four partners: the 'municipality,' the Provincial government, the Federal government and the developer. The four partners would contribute funding to create the homes/apartments.
So with that model in mind, I set out to kick around possible combinations in Princeton. I think there has to be a non-profit partner involved, so my model would include the
'municipality' which would be the Town of Princeton and Area H, provincial and federal partners and a non-profit organization like Community Services and/or the Legion. I would leave a developer out of the equation so that the control stays within the community and the focus stays on creating a solution rather than an investment. People are more valuable than an investment in my scenario.
There you go, I've solved the low-income, affordable housing issue in Princeton.
Then I receive a faxed news release from the Town of Princeton announcing the Princeton & District Community Forest Corporation (PDCFC) is now accepting applications for their 2008 Grant Program.
The PDCFC has done some wonderful things with it's money over the years. Paying off the Golf Club debt was a significant contribution. In recent years many
'non-profits' have received hefty cheques of support. It's all been good.
Part of the announcement caught my eye.
The part that says: "Part of PDCRC's remaining four-year mandate is to ensure net revenues generated from the Corporation's forestry operations are used to support the acquiring of community assets and provide our community with a long-term legacy."
A low-income, affordable housing development sounds pretty much like a long-term community legacy to me.
Or at least it appears to be a no-brainer from where I'm sitting.
