On March 26, 2024, a vote on giving statutory immunity for an emergency shelter at the old Elks Hall in downtown Williams Lake left many surprised.
After two public council meetings on the topic, Coun. Sheila Boehm cast the game-changing vote, which led to the four-two vote in favour of giving BC Housing the statutory immunity. This allows the shelter to go ahead at 98 First Avenue South, without the regular lengthy rezoning process, but does not change the location’s zoning. This means the shelter would no longer be permitted after BC Housing leaves the location.
After the meeting, Boehm explained her decision to vote for allowing the emergency homeless shelter to go ahead.
“I think in the end, I had to do what was right for the community right now,” she said, noting she is still not happy about the fact the city was put in this position. She said the city, and many others, need low-income, low-barrier housing and the north needs a treatment centre.
“It’s not an easy decision, there’s no good answers,” said Boehm, who had pressed BC Housing in the meeting for a timeline on when they would be completing the longer-term housing solution of Jubilee House, a project in development for many years, which includes different stages of housing and more of it.
“I’m angry at this government letting things go to the point where there’s not enough housing for people,” she said, citing cases where familes are living in recreational vehicles.
She still has reservations about BC Housing, which she said has not lived up to promises they continue to make.
Boehm said she wants the public to watch the Elks Hall project “like a hawk” and report issues so things can be dealt with and hopefully it will provide some improvements for the downtown, given clients will have somewhere to be during the day if they want and it will be safer for staff.
While she had held out hope the extension for ideas and input from the community might result in a “Hail Mary” new solution from the community, no magical location came to light.
All of the possible locations and solutions suggested by the public were already ones eliminated by staff prior to the proposed Elks Hall location.
“It isn’t what I wanted for [downtown business owners] either,” she said of the location.
Tension over the vote had built up over the course of nearly two weeks and two lengthy council meetings. At both the March 12 meeting and the March 26 meeting, council voted in favour of allowing the public to speak on the issue, despite it not being a public hearing and therefore not required.
On March 12, a presentation by BC Housing, input from the public and comments by council took more than two hours.
The meeting on March 26 took even longer, with public comment and council comments taking three hours to get to the vote.
When the vote took place, Coun. Angie Delainey, Coun. Joan Flaspohler, Coun. Michael Moses and Coun. Boehm voted in favour of granting the statutory immunity.
Coun. Scott Nelson and Mayor Surinderpal Rathor voted against the motion.
Before the vote some councillors became emotional in their statements.
The surprise in the room was palpable as the motion passed, including on the face of Moses, whose statement leading up to the vote hinted at an expectation of a deadlock after the input from the community came back with many in favour and many against.
“If democracy is going to be at work properly you should see a split vote because you all have representation on this board, on this council,” he said.
But as the hands were raised, the votes fell on the side of yes.
“When she voted, I was shocked,” said Mayor Rathor, after the meeting.
Rathor said he had agreed with the project prior to presenting it to the public, but he had not decided how he would vote until after hearing from the community.
He wanted to prove to the community politicians listen.
“In a democracy, the majority wins,” he said, while there were strong responses on both sides of the issue, and he took it all into consideration.
One councillor had excused herself from the vote, with Coun. Jazmyn Lyons declaring a conflict of interest due to the owners of the proposed location also owning the building she rents for her business.
BC Housing representatives said at one of the meetings work should start on the project right away, so it is available by winter.
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