Property owners of the old Elks Hall are speaking out as debate continues regarding a proposed homeless shelter in Williams Lake.
Crystal and Stefan Hoelzler, owners of Wave Properties, issued a letter, which they posted publicly and shared with the community over the weekend, as city council prepares to vote on statutory immunity for BC Housing to begin developing the shelter proposed for 98 First Ave. South.
“We are dismayed by the untrue and unfounded information that is circulating in the community about our business and our commitment to this community,” stated the letter. The owners emphasize their long-standing work in the community, maintaining and cleaning a number of city properties, including the Elks Hall property, which they purchased in 2021. They describe having to clean up everything from needles to human feces to used feminine hygiene products at their downtown commercial properties.
“This is an on-going and challenging position to be in as a property owner, but one that we take seriously and make best efforts to attend to. That is our responsibility as property owners and citizens of this community,” said the letter.
A petition was also circulated and submitted to city council, against the proposed shelter location, with over 300 signatures, though not all the signatures were from people living in Williams Lake.
The letter from the Hoelzlers also includes some response to backlash suggesting city council members in some way will get a benefit from supporting this project. The letter calls these suggestions “baseless accusations” and said the negotiations between the property owners and BC Housing were separate and private.
“We believe that with a better set up for [Canadian Mental Health Association] to operate in, our company can be part of the solution for the benefit of the downtown,” said the letter. They go on to clarify the renovations for the facility to become a shelter are not major, potentially adding shower and laundry facilities.
They also contest numbers being thrown around online about the profits they stand to make from the shelter, which they said are “outrageous and unfounded.”
The letter noted the proposed site would be a matter of relocating the existing shelter a few blocks, and said the intention of a shelter is for everyone to feel safer by giving the unhoused people a place to go. The Elks Hall facility would allow people to remain in the building and on the grounds during the day, while the Hamilton Hotel location is closed to most for most of the day. They also pointed to legislation potentially limiting the ability of municipalities and businesses to take down encampments if no suitable shelter exists, expressing concern if an alternative is not found and the Hamilton shelter closes, a much worse situation for the city and businesses could result.
They also note many things being shared about the shelter are based on a lack of understanding of how a development like the proposed shelter works and the role of BC Housing, which funds housing and does not control the other aspects of support for those struggling with mental health and addiction.
A letter to city council added to the agenda package for the March 26 meeting provides some insight into other locations looked at prior to selecting the current shelter location. The letter noted locations they looked into included the Glendale Elementary School, Williams Lake Stampede Grounds, the area called the “dairy fields” and others, but all were not found suitable, for various reasons.
Council will vote on giving BC Housing statutory immunity, to allow the property to be used as an emergency shelter at their regular city council meeting on March 26. Statutory immunity would forgo the usual rezoning process and also preventing the property from remaining zoned for shelter use if and when BC Housing no longer operates the shelter on the site.
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