One-time grants have been approved for four of London’s business improvement associations (BIA) to help cover costs from the city’s ongoing homelessness issue.
On Tuesday, a staff report to the council’s Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee recommended awarding the Downtown London BIA $1.2 million and the Old East Village BIA $500,000 to lessen the effects of homelessness.
Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, with support from Ward 1 Coun. Hadleigh Mc Alister, proposed two motions to grant $250,000 each to the Argyle and Hamilton Road BIAs.
“We also have to recognize that the problem is spreading further down the road in both BIAs, and we need a response there as well,” said Lewis.
Lewis pointed out that while downtown and OEV face major challenges regarding homelessness, his east-end ward is also dealing with similar problems.
“Just in the Argyle BIA alone, (there are) 11 hotspots and more than 528 calls to our security service to those hotspots in this year to date, and we still have two months to go.”
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This is a whole community response; it’s a community issue. So all of the BIAs should be part of that business reference table,” said Mc Alister. “They should be involved in those discussions so their voices can be heard on how other BIAs fit into this conversation along with our initiatives.”
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Both motions passed with councillors Jerry Pribil and Steve Lehman abstaining. Councillors Anna Hopkins, Steven Hillier, Susan Stevenson, and Sam Trosow voted against them.
A third motion proposing a grant of $125,000 for Hyde Park BIA was brought forward by Ward 7 coun. Corrine Rahman but did not pass.
<p. After adding funding for Argyle and Hamilton Road BIAs passed successfully , the original recommendation for just under $1.7 million allocated towards downtown BIA's was approved unanimously.
The grants will come from Operating Budget Contingency Reserve Fund intended for mitigating impacts from COVID-19 pandemic.
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Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines delivered right into your inbox once a day. Ward 4 coun. Susan Stevenson stated that although homelessness is an issue throughout the city, downtown and OEV are “worlds apart” from other wards. More on Canada More videos “There aren’t teams available to remove all of the encampments and homeless; it’s just not even possible,” she said. “We are in survival mode. This isn’t about optimal; it’s not about managing flow. This is about survival.” She urged her fellow councillors to acknowledge the challenges businesses in core areas face and allocate funds where they’re most needed within BIAs. The motions presented by Lewis and Mc Alister also included a suggestion for civic administration to contact all BIAs in London inviting representatives to join at the Business Reference Table for the Whole Community Response to Homelessness. Trending Now
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This is a whole community response; it’s a community issue. So all of the BIAs should be part of that business reference table,” said Mc Alister. “They should be involved in those discussions so their voices can be heard on how other BIAs fit into this conversation along with our initiatives.”
Story continues below
Both motions passed with councillors Jerry Pribil and Steve Lehman abstaining. Councillors Anna Hopkins, Steven Hillier, Susan Stevenson, and Sam Trosow voted against them.
A third motion proposing a grant of $125,000 for Hyde Park BIA was brought forward by Ward 7 coun. Corrine Rahman but did not pass.
<p. After adding funding for Argyle and Hamilton Road BIAs passed successfully , the original recommendation for just under $1.7 million allocated towards downtown BIA's was approved unanimously.
The grants will come from Operating Budget Contingency Reserve Fund intended for mitigating impacts from COVID-19 pandemic.
The council will make its final decision regarding committee recommendations on Nov. 7.
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