Spectrum Newsletter 2010 - City of Brantford

SPECTRUMFROM THEDIRECTOR’S DESKBy Rick FarrelThe one thing that we can always be certain <strong>of</strong> is change. Nowhere is that more evident thanwithin our own staffing ranks.Rick Farrell, Director <strong>of</strong> Housing,<strong>City</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Brantford</strong>As you know, over the past fewyears, Louise Doyle, Barb Varga,Larry Pick, and Deb Ballak haveall retired and now it is Tom Lockyer’sturn. Tom has been a Managerwith the <strong>Brantford</strong> HousingDepartment and the Brant and<strong>Brantford</strong> Housing Authoritysince January 1985. Prior to thatTom managed the ManitoulinEspanola Housing Authorityfrom 1978 until 1984. By the way,Tom was the very first manager <strong>of</strong>that Housing Authority.Tom has always had a real passionfor the housing business, particularlyfor the many tenants whorely on us for their shelter. We wishTom the very best in his retirementand hope that he is at least able tocatch the odd fish or perhaps see afew deer on his hunting trips.Tom’s replacement is DeborahFilice. Deb comes to us from <strong>City</strong>Housing Hamilton and has overtwenty years experience in housing.Deborah oversaw approximately7,000 units <strong>of</strong> housing and brings awealth <strong>of</strong> experience in developingpartnerships for the betterment <strong>of</strong>the housing community. Deb willbe an excellent addition to ourteam. Welcome Deborah!Other changes include the acquisition<strong>of</strong> Heritage House, which isa 27 unit housing project locatedin the former YMCA. The <strong>City</strong> <strong>of</strong><strong>Brantford</strong> assisted in building thisproject and now we have taken overownership in partnership withWilfrid Laurier University. Laurierhas a 112 bed student residence inthe same building. This is a greatpartnership and is a key ingredientin the redevelopment <strong>of</strong> the corearea <strong>of</strong> the city. Some <strong>of</strong> the rentsare rent-geared-to-income and othersare at the low end <strong>of</strong> market.These are stunning apartmentsand if you know persons who areinterested in renting one bedroomsin the $600 range these are greatvalue. Call our <strong>of</strong>fice to find outmore!Our department accomplisheda minor miracle by relocating 64households from the south side <strong>of</strong>Colborne Street in a period <strong>of</strong> 90days. Frances Richardson and DebBallak worked very hard with eachand every household to find themnew accommodations that suitedtheir needs. Congratulations on ajob well done!We also worked on an updatedAffordable Housing Strategy thatwill guide our decisions and workplanover the next five to ten years.This strategy will bring aboutmore housing, more public educationand hopefully will embracethe notion <strong>of</strong> making income integrationa part <strong>of</strong> all <strong>of</strong> our housingcommunities. A copy <strong>of</strong> this strategyis posted on the city’s website“www.brantford.ca”.Our department accomplished a minor miracle by relocating64 households from Colborne Street in a period <strong>of</strong> 90 days.I trust that you enjoy this newedition <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Spectrum</strong> and I lookforward to the opportunity to continueto share the news from theHousing Department in our subsequentissues as well.2