When one door closes, another opens. This is what the board of directors, as well as staff and clients of the Door of Hope in Meadow Lake hope proves to be true after a recent decision by Meadow Lake city council. During council’s regular meeting held Monday (Nov. 3), a motion was carried to approve for advertising purposes an application received from Meadow Lake Outreach Ministries for the development of a building, which would be used as the new location for the Door of Hope and the Meadow Lake Food Bank. The lot in question is located at 307-309 3rd St. East.
“The applicant proposes relocating the current Door of Hope and Food Bank from its current location at 105 2nd Ave. East to a new building to be constructed on an empty lot at 307-309 3rd St. East,” reiterated planning and development manager Neil Marsh in his official recommendation to council. “The new building will incorporate the food bank, community kitchen and related office spaces.” Marsh went on to note the current building on 2nd Avenue East is in poor condition and is no longer viable for the Door of Hope’s purposes. “The food bank, in particular, has outgrown the available space and should ideally be separate from the Door of Hope’s other services,” he added. “The kitchen facilities are inadequate for their purpose. Overall, extensive upgrades would be required to bring the current building up to current standards of compliance and long-term serviceability.” Marsh also said the project appears to be in keeping with the intention and requirements of the zoning bylaw as well as the city’s official community plan. “The proposed site is a vacant lot, with municipal services available from 3rd Street East,” he continued. “Access for employee parking and food bank deliveries is available at the rear of the lot via a lane which also serves SGI and the Lakeview Apartments. The applicant has a lot sale agreement in place, conditional on approval of this discretionary use application.”
The motion was brought forward by councillor Marty Bishop and seconded by councillor Tom Harrison, and, with its approval, means a public hearing will now take place at council’s Dec. 8 meeting to allow nearby residents and members of the community to voice their opinion on the matter. “As per (the zoning bylaw, this) is a discretionary use in this zone,” Marsh stated. “Therefore, the city is required to carry out the review and approval process set out in the bylaw. This includes advertising, notification of residents within 75 metres of the property being developed and a public hearing prior to council approval of the development permit.”
When contacted by Northern Pride, Bob Steeg of the Door of Hope board of directors said there will be a concentrated effort to raise funds for the project, but not until it receives full approval from city council. “The new building was never our plan,” Steeg said. “The plan was to renovate and upgrade our present building. But, the reality came in finding the funds to do it which we didn’t have. We were eventually led to a professional fundraiser (the Saskatoon-based DCG Philanthropic Services Inc.), which actually assisted the city with the new Co-op Centre. When we talked to them, we said we needed about $100,000 to fix things up.” However, the board was informed professional fundraisers such as DCG deal with major corporate donors who are not receptive to renovation projects or fix-ups because there’s no end game. “They want new buildings,” Steeg said. “He mentioned big dollars, which really threw us because that’s not our style. The Door of Hope is on a wing and a prayer – a lot of prayer – all the time. But, after we analyzed it, talked about it and talked to different organizations, it turns out this is the way.”
Steeg said the Door of Hope does, however, have a concern with the community in terms of optics. “Folks might say they’re putting up a big building yet always asking for money,” he noted. “But, the reality is, we’re talking major national and international corporations who would be looking to fund this operation. That’s how it all got started.” Steeg also echoed Marsh’s comments, stating the current Door of Hope building has indeed seen better days. “Our heating and utility costs are exorbitant, and we have major infrastructure requirements that are very costly to do,” he said. “Our food bank is also one third the size it should be. But, the reality is we are so short of food it works for now anyway. That’s a whole other issue.” If the city ultimately gives the project the go-ahead, Steeg said the timeline in terms of completing the new building will come down to how much money can be raised. “We’ve got an excellent architect who drew up plans… It all depends on the funding,” he said. “If we were to be blessed with a gazillion dollars, it could begin right away. But, we’re really praying. This is way beyond our expectations, but we believe it will happen. The community needs it. This is a huge requirement in the community.”