A good story gone bad may have a happy ending after all.
More than a month after they were evicted from their meeting space, members of the Louis Street Association may have a new home as soon as of next week.
The area made headlines in 2012, when a new policing model pioneered in Sudbury – known as Zone 30 – played a key role in a drastic decline in the number of emergency police calls in the neighbourhood, from several a day to a handful a month.
It was accomplished through increased engagement by police in the day-to-day life of residents. In turn, residents let officers know where the trouble spots were and who was doing what. The intelligence helped police make targeted arrests that brought calm to the area.
The next step was the creation of the Louis Street Association, a group of volunteers dedicated to encouraging community pride. Community gardens were created, and after-school programs gave kids a place to go and learn, rather than get into trouble.
While the after-school programs were popular, the group lost its meeting space last year, says a report headed to city council Tuesday.
“It was determined by the City of Greater Sudbury Housing Services section and GSHC personnel that the space was not appropriate for children’s activities,” the report says.
The association then signed an agreement to share space with Better Beginnings, Better Futures, which has held about four hours a week of programming out of a Sudbury Housing space on Louis Street for the last 20 years.
The agreement was signed in January, but friction between the groups quickly developed, the report said.
“Shortly after LSCA began using the shared space, written complaints were received from BBBF and an investigation by GSHC was conducted,” the report said.
“GSHC determined that LSCA had breached the agreement and as a result the use of the shared space was revoked on April 5, 2018 by GSHC.
“GSHC CEO and Manager of Tenant Services met with LSCA to discuss the complaints. Once the decision was made by GSHC, LSCA did not have the option to request that the decision be reviewed. There is no internal review process in place for tenant associations.”
Ward 12 Coun. Jocelyne Landry-Altman brought the issue to council last month, asking staff to take another look at the situation to see what could be done to save the programs the association officers.
A report that will be reviewed Tuesday has four options, with the preferred one having the group relocated into yet another building on Louis Street.
That space had been converted into a meeting and training centre for staff, the report said.
“The proposed space is accessible and has direct access to an outdoor patio area which can be used by tenants,” the report said. “A security office is located in the main lobby of the building. On site-security services and surveillance in the building and scheduled hours of security can be coordinated with the timing of LSCA activities. GSHC could also investigate providing Wi-Fi access to the LSCA when using the common room.”
Other options include use of a facility on Paris Street, which would include sharing the cost of transporting people back and forth, and using space in the Ukrainian Catholic Church at the corner of Notre Dame Avenue and Louis Street. A fourth option – taking a rental unit off the market and converting it for the association's use – was not recommended because it would impact wait lists for public housing.
