It’s not that often we expect to find ourselves saying the City of Thompson made a wise deal in walking away from three housing lots valued at about $434,000 for what will likely be a very nominal price. But this is one of those times.

City council, over the objections of councillors Stella Locker and Judy Kolada, voted 5-2 on Feb. 1 to sell three lots on Arctic Drive at Wekusko Street, the location of the defunct Legacy Condominiums “executive housing units” project, adjacent to Burntwood Elementary School; Arctic Drive and Goldeye Crescent; and Fox Bay to the Keewatin Housing Association Inc. (KHA) for a nominal fee. The lots were for sale for about $434,000.

Deputy mayor Harold Smith declared a conflict of interest and stepped out of the room for the vote as he is executive director of the recently established Northern Housing Operations (NHO) branch for the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation.

In effect, this is a significant in-kind land contribution by the city and there is a substantial quid pro quo with the Keewatin Housing Association Inc.

Sharon McKay, president of KHA, wrote a letter to Mayor Tim Johnston and city council on Nov. 30 of last year, after KHA had discussions with Gary Ceppetelli, director of planning and community development for the City of Thompson, suggesting the three parcels of city-owned land could the locations for KHA to develop up to 30 new, affordable rental housing units for aboriginal families.

The total project is expected to cost more than $6.2 million.

In return for the City of Thompson offering the lots for sale to KHA for $1 each, which was originally proposed in McKay’s letter, Keewatin Housing agrees to certain conditions including “renting all units at or below the median market rent for Thompson, as established annually by CMHC; renting only to individuals who do not have family income in excess of the upper limit second quintile family income established by Statistics Canada; and should Keewatin Housing discontinue providing affordable housing on a given property, then we shall pay to the city of Thompson fair market value of the land, as determined at the time of discontinuance of the provision of affordable housing.”

While the final amount is likely to wind up being more than $1 per lot – or $3 in total – it is still expected to be a nominal value.

The City of Thompson will also have membership on the board of directors of the Keewatin Housing Association Inc. as a result of the deal.

The city’s asking price for the properties was $6 per square foot – or about $434,000 -- because of infrastructure investments, Ceppetelli said.

But McKay pointed out the Manitoba Housing and Community Development Department (MHCDD) have already notionally allocated $5 million for the housing project and KHA would be contributing more than $1.2 million by way of mortgage financing.

“It would be appropriate for the City of Thompson to make a contribution-in-kind as a gesture of partnership with the broader community,” McKay wrote.

She noted there is an exodus of people who cannot afford to live in Thompson leaving the community, and the new units will help mitigate that because the project is aimed at families with children.

All one has to do to know McKay is right is to think back less than three years to the fall of 2007 and the start of the $4-million Grey Wolf Bay Townhouse renovations. The displacement of aboriginal and other families rippled out in all directions and enrolment temporarily dropped sharply at nearby Burntwood Elementary School.

Hopefully, we’ve come some distance as a caring community beyond September 2007 when evicted Grey Wolf Bay tenants said they were told by the province to consider moving to Churchill if they expected to find housing for large families of four to seven children.

“Construction projects in Thompson face many challenges,” McKay noted. Most of those challenges can be overcome – at a cost. Manitoba Housing is requesting that we build 30 units. And we all know that Thompson needs that number and more. However, our preliminary planning indicates that even with Keewatin Housing contributing over $1.2 million in financing, we will not be able to build as many as 30 units if we must pay the city’s initial asking price for the properties,” McKay said. “The approximate $434,000 that the city proposes charging for these three lots would buy several units that would house families for decades to come.”

McKay also pointed out in the letter that the City of Thompson would earn property taxes on the units over time that, she says, will “somewhat compensate for an upfront contribution-in-kind.”

McKay made a persuasive argument on behalf of the Keewatin Housing Association. She’s right and so is council in accepting the KHA offer.

Thompson needs a mix of housing. This deal has in large measure helped council to redeem itself from the events of a year ago when plans by Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation to develop its first low-income multi-family four and five-bedroom townhouses and row homes in Thompson since 1990, in the Rotary Park area of Deerwood, were killed in less than a week by councillors faced with the one-time vociferous opposition of about 80 residents of the Deerwood area.

Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation wanted to develop 10 multi-family four and five-bedroom townhouses and row homes in two phases for a total of 20 units.

Manitoba Housing and Renewal had talks at that time also with the Keewatin Tribal Council (KTC) to explore the potential that Keewatin Housing Association Inc. could manage the new homes under an agreement with the corporation.

Better for council to do the right thing late than never. And good for folks like Ceppetelli and McKay for being willing and able to think outside the box last fall. Thompson can use all the outside-the-box thinkers it can muster.