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Huskies fry the fish in Family Day action

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With just three games remaining in the OJHL regular season, the Haliburton County Huskies are in a straight shot with the Wellington Dukes for second place in the South/East conference – and the post-season home advantage that comes with it.

S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena was packed to the brim on Family Day (Feb. 20) as the blue and white welcomed the Lindsay Muskies to town for the final chapter of this season’s Battle of Hwy. 35. The home team cruised to a 5-1 win, their fourth of the season over Lindsay, giving them 74 points after 51 games – one better than the Dukes, who have played a game less.

There was a celebratory mood inside the rink in the lead-up, with the Huskies holding a pre-game ceremony to honour its eight graduating players. Mid-season acquisitions Josh Currie, Boyd Stahlbaum and Zack Terry joined goaltender Aidan Spooner, top-scorer Ty Collins, assistant captains Sam Solarino and Isaac Sooklal, and captain Christian Stevens in receiving a standing ovation at centre ice, each flanked by members of their family.

Things turned serious as soon as the puck dropped Monday afternoon. Forward Lucas Stevenson lasted just 15 seconds before being handed a game misconduct for throwing a hit to the head of Muskies’ defenceman Gavin Keller.

The home side’s PK unit was resolute, killing the five-minute major and a Currie slashing minor.

Midway through the period, the Huskies found an opening – though the goal was shrouded in controversy. Currie latched onto a loose puck in front of the net at 9:41, diverting it goalward. Muskies blueliner Alexis Gonzalez-Lambert attempted a block on the goal line, but, after a lengthy stoppage, the officials gave the goal.

Carson Christy scored a penalty shot for the visiting side at 13:26, sending the teams in tied after the first buzzer.

Zack Terry rung the iron with a low shot from the slot early in the second, before Stahlbaum, who started the season with the Muskies, came back to haunt his old team. He lifted a rebound high into the Lindsay goal at 11:54 after netminder, Yacine Chemrouk, had denied Sooklal and Leo Serlin. Collins then made it a 3-1 game at 14:29, finishing off another rebound – this time on the powerplay.

The game fell a little flat in the third, though the Huskies added a pair of goals late in the frame. Stevens took advantage of a five-on-three opportunity to score his 20th goal of the season at 15:23, with Alex Cunningham tipping a Lucas Marshall shot in at 18:22.

The win was the “perfect response” to a disappointing 6-3 road loss to the Georgetown Raiders Feb. 18, Stevens told The Highlander.

“We faced a bit of adversity there early on, but our PK has been unreal all season… we stuck in there, then took full advantage when our chances came,” Stevens said.

He felt it was a good omen that the Huskies had five different names on the scoresheet. “That’s what makes a championship team – scoring from all over the ice. We have confidence no matter who’s out there.”

With playoffs looming, the Huskies look set for a seven-game series with the St. Michael’s Buzzers or Toronto Patriots. They’ve played each team four times this season, going 4-0 against St. Michael’s and splitting their series with the Patriots 2-2.

“This is the best time of the year for a hockey player. I always get excited for playoffs,” Stevens said. “We’ve got to take care of business now in these last few games, try and secure that second spot that we’ve had all year. That would give us home ice advantage, which is huge for us because we love playing in Minden in front of all our fans.”

First though, the blue and white will host the Toronto Jr. Canadiens Feb. 25, before traveling to Milton for a tilt with the Menace Feb. 26. They close out the regular season in Minden March 4 against the North York Rangers. Playoffs begin March 8.

Storm dominate Generals 12-0

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On Friday, Feb. 17, The Highland Storm Tom Prentice and Sons U18 Rep team faced off against the Oshawa Generals at the S.G Nesbitt Memorial Arena.

The first period started with Aiden Perrott scoring a goal within the first 10 seconds. Twenty seconds after that, Alex Henry scored a goal. Next, Perrott scored his second goal. Then, on a powerplay, Kyan Hall scored a goal, making it 4-0. Within seconds, Henry scored his second goal. The game was 5-0 going into the second.

The second period started with a beautiful one-timer by Gage Hutchinson. Then, Kaine Brannigan scored his first goal of the game. Next, Brody Prentice scored his first goal of the game. Then, Perrott scored his hat-trick goal. Nathan Guild scored his first goal. It was 10-0 going into the third.

The third period started with Avery Degeer scoring his first goal of the game followed by another goal by Brannigan. The final score was 12-0.

High school Nordic team off to provincials

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Sisters, Olivia and Violet Humphries, were only two when parents, Joleen Thomas and Stuart Humphries, put them on cross country skis for the first time.

Now, Olivia, in Gr. 11, and Violet, in Gr. 9, are members of the Haliburton Highlands Secondary School (HHSS) Nordic team that is off to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) Feb. 22-24 at Lakefield College School.

Olivia came in second in her category at COSSA high school, finishing a mere .8 of a second behind the winner, a club skier. She completed the seven-kilometre course in slightly over 24 minutes. Violet was also a silver medalist in her category, also losing out to a club skier. She completed a fivekilometre circuit in just over 17 minutes.

Neither knows what to expect this coming week as they have not raced at the provincial level before. Olivia thinks the schools from further north are probably a lot more into it due to weather and trail conditions.

Neither is intimidated, though. Violet has run cross-country at OFSAA. “I don’t really mind because I’m used to races from crosscounty running. To me, it’s just another race.”

Haliburton captured the COSSA junior girls team title. Violet, along with teammates Erika Hoare (fourth), Ella Gervais (fifth) and Olivia Gruppe (sixth) earned gold medals in this category supported by Grace Allder (eighth), who is the official alternate for the team. Hannah Sharp (ninth), and Teagan Hamilton (11th) also qualified for OFSAA in the junior girls division with their strongest ski of the season. Erika was 11th in the overall junior results.

Along with Olivia’s second in senior girls, Haiden Bird was sixth in junior boys.

Gervais said looking at the overall results from COSSA, among all 42 junior level skiers across the three associations and both genders, Violet had the fourth fastest time, “which is pretty impressive.

“And all eight of our junior skiers finished in the top three-quarters of the finishers. It should also be noted that the junior girls sprint relay team of Violet, Erika, Ella and Olivia had the top finishing time at the meet from all the junior teams, including the boys. This was a 4x900m course,” Gervais said.

The coach said last season was cancelled due to the pandemic, and Sharp, Hamilton and Bird all learned to cross country ski just this year.

“They had been competing previously in the 3km Novice division as new skiers, but all chose to make the leap to the competitive 5km race and vie for an OFSAA qualifying spot, which is no easy feat to complete this distance. All nine skiers have qualified for OFSAA.”

Coach Gervais is feeling “great” about their chances.

“I think our junior girls’ team is looking really strong along with our top individual skiers.”

Mike Rieger is co-coach and Joleen Thomas and Kevin Hoare have also helped coach and support the athletes throughout the season.

Gervais said it’s been years since they’ve had such a large Nordic team and sent so many athletes to OFSAA.

“These athletes have all worked really hard and each has improved so much individually.”

She added even better news is they will all be returning next year, and will be joined by some strong elementary school skiers.

Games ‘experience of a lifetime’ for Haliburton curler

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Haliburton’s Owen Nicholls is looking to make a name for himself on the national stage later this month, when he travels to Summerside, P.E.I. to participate in the 2023 Canada Winter Games.

Nicholls, a Grade 12 student at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School (HHSS), will play in the U18 curling championships, where he will represent the London-based Team Stratton. It will be his 12th major event of a highly-successful first season with the team, which has claimed wins at multiple prestigious events, including the Canada Winter Games trials in December, and the Ontario provincial championships in January.

The event will feature 12 of the best up-and-coming teams from across the country, including representatives from all 10 provinces, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories. Nicholls leaves Feb. 26 and will be down east for 10 days.

“To say it’s the stuff of dreams would be an understatement. Having the chance to play at a Canada Games and see how good you have to be to actually compete at that level, it’s going to be one of the best experiences of my life,” Nicholls told The Highlander.

Playing the lead position, Nicholls has developed a tight bond with his new teammates this season. Having played with fellow Haliburtonian Jacon Dobson at the U21 level last year, Nicholls accepted an offer to join Team Stratton in the summer, after serving as a spare for the squad at least season’s provincial championships.

“I gladly took the offer – they were the reigning provincial champions and a national bronze medalist, so I saw it as an opportunity to take my game to new heights,” he noted.

Nicholls has come a long way from his humble beginnings as a novice, starting out at the youth program at the Haliburton Curling Club. It’s been nine years since he threw his first rock, and while he’s played at some of the best venues across the province, he said his favourite rink will always be right here in the Highlands. He still gets out to the Mountain Street facility at least once a week for regular league play.

He gave a shoutout to Hugh Nichol and Terry Lawrence, who ran the youth program, for inspiring him at a young age and pushing him to learn and grow over the years. He said he plans to take their many lessons and put them into practice on the ice in Summerside next week.

After working out some early season kinks, Team Stratton is heading into the games as one of the favourites. Nicholls feels the team is coming into peak form at just the right time.

“This has been our goal right from day one. Now that we’re here we have to make the most of this opportunity,” Nicholls said.

“At the beginning of the season, we were just scratching out wins whereas now we’re really earning them… it’s going to be nice to test myself and see how we fare as a team. I’m confident we can go there and compete against anyone.”

Team Stratton is guaranteed to play five games, starting with an afternoon tilt against Team Northwest Territories Feb. 28. To track results, visit 2023canadagames.ca.

Growing business to bring flowers into people’s lives

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The business name is unconventional – Snaffle+Mane plant + floral design – and the proprietor admits to being a bit “quirky” as the latest offering at 83 Maple Ave., Haliburton springs into life.

Gillian Taylor is likely a familiar face to many. She ran the Cookhouse at the Haliburton Forest for a spell. She was at Boshkung Brewing and Castle Antiques for a short time. She’s done carpentry and a lot of marketing for other businesses. She’s a horse afficionado.

While potting succulents at her shop overlooking the corner of Maple Avenue and York Street, Taylor said her own postcard marketing illustrates the fact, “I’m a pretty quirky human, so I was like, ‘I’m just going to do whatever I think. I want it to be ridiculous’.” The advertising postcard depicts a horse and rabbit along with some plants.

Taylor has had the business for almost seven years, operating out of markets in Toronto. She now lives on Stormy Lake with her mother.

When Heidi Hudspith was moving her Mixtape Vintage business, she asked Taylor if she would be interested in taking over the space. She recalled saying, “don’t be crazy.”

However, “I mulled it over for a weekend and then I made the decision that it was time to take my business to the next level.” She took over the storefront Feb. 2, renovated “solidly” and opened Feb. 11.

Asked about her trade, she said she started out concentrating on succulents. She grows them. She was doing arrangements in upcycled, repurposed antiques.

“I’ve always loved plants. In my condo in Toronto, I had huge windows and exposed ceilings. I just literally jammed plants into every single nook and cranny. Then, I started becoming more interested in different varieties and different species. It just kind of took off from there.

“I’ve just always loved flowers,” she added. “I started doing events and little pop-ups. It really brought me a lot of joy.”

However, the logistics of not having a physical location, and a proper storage fridge, were challenging, especially if doing weddings or other events. She said her home became “coo coo.”

Asked to elaborate on her love of plants, Taylor retorted with a laugh, “well, plants don’t talk back.

“I’ll pick up a plant, I’ll be ‘oh, hi!’ Watching things grow, I don’t have children, so I don’t really have that element of watching something be cultivated by hand. My horse obviously is sort of that for me.”

She said she’s also always been customer service oriented. Her core business values include consistent hours, a friendly face that says hello when someone comes through the door, accommodating as much as she possibly can, taking the time to have chats with people and get to know them, not just view them as a dollar sign.

She hopes to do a lot of weddings and celebrations. She plans to do subscription programs for regular customers, with possible pick-up points so people don’t have to travel to Haliburton. She wants to keep her prices as reasonable as possible “to allow people to bring flowers into their lives on a regular basis.” She sources her stock herself in-person when she can.

“Anything I do, I put 100 per cent towards. Having done that for so many other people, it was time to work those 12 hours a day and see that work directly pay off … I just want to be open and busy.”

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New storefront focuses on healthy homes

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A chance meeting between two entrepreneurs has led to a new collaboration that has taken Haliburton County by storm.

Deborah Lyons and Avril Copestick have combined their two businesses, Organic Times Emporium and Rowan & Oak Bath & Body, under one roof, setting up shop in the building previously frequented by ACM Designs on the corner of County Road 21 and Industrial Park Road in Haliburton.

The new space is jam-packed with products that adhere to the pair’s environmentallyfocused, community-minded mantra – from handcrafted soaps and candles, to mineralbased paints, homemade jewellery and reclaimed art.

“There’s a little bit of everything here,” Lyons told The Highlander. “After I sold my previous business in Minden, I decided to open a store in Haliburton that would take care of the home, with a focus on creating a healthy home. There’s a lot of eco-friendly products in here, most of them using upcycled and reused materials.”

Lyons has been operating a storefront in the community for around 18 months, previously located on Industrial Park Road. She felt limited in that space, though, and started to look for a new home last summer. It was around that time she was introduced to Copestick. Having just moved to the Highlands from Nova Scotia in December 2021, Copestick was looking for a retailer that would sell her soap and candle products. The pair immediately hit it off.

After a successful soft launch at Organic Times, and the continued popularity of her stall at the Haliburton Farmers Market, Copestick pondered branching out and opening a retail operation of her own. In the end, a partnership with Lyons made more sense.

“We complement each other so nicely. We have the same approach to business, and the same sense of community… we are trying to build this space and support local as much as we possibly can. All the materials I use for my soaps, candles and other products are sourced locally, or at least within the province,” Copestick said.

“We are all about Canadian, Canadian, Canadian. If there’s anything inside this store that says it was made elsewhere, that’s because it’s a reclaimed piece created by a Canadian artist or designer,” Lyons added.

After a busy first few weeks, the pair are preparing themselves for a hectic summer. Lyons said she hopes to grow her product line in the coming months, while Copestick said she plans to maintain a presence at the Haliburton Farmers Market once it reopens.

Lyons said she hopes to use the space to inspire the community’s next generation of entrepreneurs.

“I’m not sure if I can see myself here still doing this 10 years from now,” she said. “In Minden, I had someone young, energetic, and enthusiastic who wanted to take the business on… that’s what I’d like to see happen here one day. We need more younger entrepreneurs to step forward and keep the spirit of business alive in Haliburton County long after people like me have fully retired.”

Organic Times Emporium and Rowan & Oak Bath & Body is open six days a week, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Wednesday and Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday. For more information, visit rowanandoakco.ca, or search ‘Organic Times Emporium’ on Facebook.

Family and friends celebrate life of Lisa Kerr

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“She was just so good at life,” Lisa Kerr’s daughter, Loretta, told a packed Pinestone Resort room Feb. 18 as family and friends gathered to say farewell to the Minden woman who touched so many Highlands lives since 1998.

Kerr died Feb. 15 after an eight-month battle with brain cancer.

Looking around the Pinestone ballroom, her husband, Bill Kerr, said, “Lisa would have loved this. She would be having the best afternoon with all you people.”

He recalled how he first laid eyes on Lisa at a University of Toronto lecture theatre in Scarborough in 1982 and almost immediately fell in love with her. They married in their last year of university. He said Lisa was a bright and gifted lawyer but sacrificed “and became a great mom” to their four children.

When he wanted to move from Scarborough to the family cottage in Minden Hills, Lisa thought it would be best for the children and agreed to the shift. Bill said she always had his back. “She’d take a bullet for me, basically.”

When he had the dream of starting Volunteer Dental Outreach for Haliburton County, despite Lisa already being extremely busy, her response was, ‘let’s do this.” He said she did “everything” along with the VDO’s board members. It was the same way she handled the dental trips to Honduras.

After her diagnosis, Bill said, “she was just peaceful and calm. We were all a mess and she was just the strength of our family. And her faith kind of flourished at that point.”

Bill said his wife felt people of all religions were praying for her. She thought God might be using the disease to bring religions together. He added she had an inner peace, was never afraid, and remained optimistic. “She was just amazing. She was fearless through this battle. She just wanted to live.”

After brain surgery, they went to the Sound of Music in Haliburton. She went to see Elton John in concert and attended TIFF with her girlfriends. The family made a trip to Turks and Caicos. She wanted to make a magical Christmas for the family in case it was her last. Bill said she was always thinking about other people. “She was just so selfless.

“She was the most amazing thing that ever happened to me. I only got 40 years but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I will always love her…” Kerr was also remembered for being part of the Those Other Movies, Doc(k) Day and HIFF family, and playing in the Highlands Chamber Orchestra.

Daughter Loretta recalled introducing the term yolo (you only live once) to her mom – and Lisa saying ‘Oh, I definitely have a yolo attitude’. She had a contagious zest for life and really did live to the fullest…” Loretta said even after the diagnosis, her mother said she had no regrets and just wanted to live, radiating joy and kindness, and having fun.

Lisa’s brother, Michael, said growing up she was his go-to person, his accountability, a natural born leader, who was reliable and trustworthy.

He said she was hopeful and optimistic in her journey. He spoke of her faith in the last months of her life, realizing God was in control and she was drawing closer to him. She believed there was a purpose to her illness, to bring others closer to God. He said reading devotionals to her drew him closer to the Lord, fulfilling her purpose.

“We know she’s at peace. There’s no more tears. There’s no more sorrow.”

See the full celebration of life at livestream. funeralscreen.com/gordon-a-monk-funeralhome/lisa-marie-kerr.

AH happy with ‘reasonable’ 3.7 per cent tax increase

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Ratepayers in Algonquin Highlands are looking at a 3.7 per cent hike to the municipal portion of their tax bill in 2023 – an increase of $12.63 per $100,000 of MPAC assessment.

Council ran through its budget deliberations Feb. 15 and 16, with discussions on the Dorset Recreation Centre, Stanhope Municipal Airport, the township’s docks and landing sites, and parking taking centre stage.

Treasurer Jean Hughes said the township is projecting to spend around $6.26 million this year – a 4.38 per cent increase to the levy. The total dollar increase from last year’s budget is, so far, $262,885.

Breaking down expenditures by department, transportation costs are the biggest line item coming in at just under $2.5 million – approximately 40 per cent of the budget. Protective services, including the Algonquin Highlands Fire Department and contributions to the Haliburton Highlands OPP, are pegged at $2 million (32 per cent). Administration costs come in at just over $1.3 million (21 per cent), parks and recreation are projecting to spend $1.14 million (18 per cent), waste management around $853,000 (13 per cent), planning and development $116,000 (two per cent) and health services $53,000 (one per cent).

Council costs are estimated at $181,000 (three per cent) for the year.

Waste management costs are up 16 per cent from last year, with health services up 14 per cent, parks and recreation up 12 per cent, transportation up three per cent, and planning up two per cent. Spending on general government, including administration and council, is down almost eight per cent, with protective services costs down by approximately four per cent.

The municipality’s operating and capital reserves are expected to drop to $6.9 million this year, down from $8.5 million – with the bulk of that money funding several big-ticket items in 2023.

Top of the list is the rehabilitation of the Dorset Recreation Centre. The facility has been closed since March 2020 after staff found extensive mold and moisture damage in a downstairs bathroom. Further investigation showed the issue was prevalent throughout the building. The township has set aside just over $366,000 this year for repairs, which public works manager, Adam Thorn, has pegged at north of $1 million.

Road resurfacing and reconstruction is coming in at $2.1 million, with repairs to McPhail Road a key focus this year. Money has also been set aside for a new design plan for North Shore Road.

A new design plan for the terminal building at Stanhope Municipal Airport is in the works, with council allocating $147,000 to future upgrades at the site. Fifty thousand dollars has also been set aside in a new reserve fund that council says will be used to address parking issues across the municipality.

Other projects supported this year include: the development of a new strategic plan; commissioning of a fire master plan and community risk assessment; new uniforms and equipment for firefighters; upgrades to the library, community centre and museum in Stanhope; the purchase of a new tandem truck with plow and sanding equipment; the installation of a weigh scale at the Maple Lake landfill; completion of the Skin Lake landing project, with property surveys commissioned for sites at Fletcher Lake and Russell Landings; and the installation of a lightning strike protection system at Dorset Tower.

After a first draft of the budget called for a 14 per cent increase to the levy, mayor Liz Danielsen commended staff and council for delivering a budget she believes is “more than reasonable.

“We should be pretty darn happy with where we’ve landed. Given how much everything is costing, the cost of living increase [we’ve given to staff], money added to everything we have to buy, I think this budget is in a good place,” she said.

A bylaw to approve the budget will be brought back to council in March.

New Abbey Retreat Centre program offers guiding hand through end-of-life care

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Terminal illness can be an extremely lonely and isolating experience, but Abbey Retreat Centre (ARC) is trying to flip the script on that and show there can be a positive path forward for people dealing with an end-of-life diagnosis.

Since opening its doors in 2017, ARC has assisted hundreds of cancer patients and their caregivers through their cancer journeys, offering free in-person programming to support people on their path to healing, recovery, and acceptance.

After adding online programming to its portfolio during the pandemic, the facility is bolstering its in-person options this month through a new pilot, Death: Charting Unknown Territories Together. The initiative is more than two years in the making, says ARC executive director Barb Smith-Morrison.

“Some of the comments we were hearing from people attending our retreats was ‘this has been phenomenal, but I’m at a place in my cancer experience where I am… facing end of life. Some of the other people at the retreat might not want to talk about that, but I need to’,” Smith-Morrison said. “That really hit hard and made us think about the types of things we were providing.”

The program, she says, will provide a safe space for people and their caregivers to discuss a variety of difficult topics surrounding death. There will be four facilitators on hand, working on issues surrounding grief and gratitude, love, and legacy. There will be opportunities for people to share their stories, with further programming designed to “reduce stress and anxiety, and deeply nourish the body, mind and spirit.” The pilot will feature eight people and is running Feb. 24 to 26.

Arlene Stiles recently joined ARC as a program coordinator. She knows firsthand how impactful these services can be, having attended a retreat with husband, Bob, in 2019. She said that experience helped change the pair’s perspective, helping Bob on his eventual road to recovery. It was a massive eye-opener for her, too.

“This was the first place that cared for me the same way Bob was cared for. It’s natural that the cancer patient is the focus, but the support person is going through the same thing. They have their own journey,” Stiles said.

A big year ahead

Smith-Morrison said ARC is returning to pre-COVID retreat sizes this year. There are six offerings planned, each including 10 people. The organization is continuing with its online supports too, with its two main programs to each run five times in 2023.

To sustain this growth, the organization is ramping up its fundraising efforts. Smith-Morrison said she hopes to bring in $250,000 this year, up from just over $100,000 in 2022.

“Our in-person retreat applications have increased 500 per cent from January 2020, so we’re trying to do what we can to make sure those that need our services get them,” she said.

It costs approximately $1,700 a day for someone to attend a four-day ARC retreat. The total cost of this pilot is approximately $1,400 per person – so less than $500 a day. Services have always been offered to people free of charge, and that won’t be changing, Smith-Morrison said.

When someone is dealing with a serious illness, usually they have to stop working. Their finances are stretched to the max,” she said. “We hear from people that having the opportunity to experience something like this and not have to worry about the cost is such a restart, it’s a reboot. It’s a piece of hope.”

Affordable housing projects in limbo

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At least three affordable housing developments in Haliburton County and the City of Kawartha Lakes are at a standstill after local service provider, KLH Housing Corporation, said a combination of rising interest rates, increased construction costs, and a lack of financial support from federal and provincial partners has made it “impossible” for new build projects to proceed.

Kirstin Maxwell, CEO of KLH, told The Highlander Feb. 21 that projects in Minden, Lindsay and Fenelon Falls would not be completed until the organization has found a way to make them more affordable.

“When interest rates started to climb, we redid our financials, and the numbers just weren’t working out anymore,” Maxwell said. “The financial realities of today are quite different than when we originally planned these projects.”

Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter, who also sits on the KLH board, said the formula traditionally used by entities like KLH to determine the final bill of a project, and subsequent cost recovery, has been thrown off by inflation.

Explaining the process, he said KLH will add up all expenditures involved with a project, including purchasing land, servicing it, and building on it, and then go about sourcing a mortgage. Once all operating costs have been accounted for, rents are determined on a cost-recovery basis.

“Our problem right now is that the cost of building is so high, and the cost of borrowing is so high, that the total operating cost to run the building is far greater than the income the building would generate,” Carter said, noting these types of operations cannot run at a deficit. “You must charge rents that will keep the building from going into debt. But, in this situation, the rents would be way higher than anyone could reasonably afford.”

Maxwell noted KLH receives “very little” funding from the federal and provincial governments. Referencing the build in Lindsay, Maxwell said the cost, prepandemic, was pegged at just under $16 million, with 24 per cent covered by KLH, 22 per cent by the City of Kawartha Lakes, eight per cent by the province, and six per cent by the feds. Around $6 million, or 40 per cent, is unfunded, meaning KLH will have to source a mortgage.

She has called on the two upper-level governments to increase their financial contributions to affordable housing projects, noting municipalities cannot afford to take on the burden alone.

When approached for comment, MPP Laurie Scott said the province will provide the City of Kawartha Lakes – the local service manager – with $4.4 million to support various housing and homelessness prevention programs this fiscal year, with a further $9.15 million paid out in social services relief funds.

“Service managers… have the flexibility to choose how to best use provincial funding for programs and services that address and prevent homelessness in their communities, such as rent supplements, homeless shelters, and supportive housing,” Scott wrote in an email.

MP Jamie Schmale did not respond as of press time.

Carter said one possible solution could be for government agencies that back these mortgages, such as Infrastructure Ontario, to extend their amortization period by more than the current 30-year limit to allow service providers to spread their repayments over a longer period.

‘We’ll do what we can’

Maxwell said KLH will continue with predevelopment work for the Minden project, which is slated to bring 35 units to the corner of Hwy. 35 and County Road 21, in the hopes that more government funding comes down the pipeline. She noted the organization is still listening on future development proposals, too.

“Our plan now is to get the permits we need, figure out exactly how much a project will cost, and then assess the situation from there. If we’re able to move forward with a project, we will. If the province or feds springs a surprise and opens a new funding stream, then great, we’ll be first in line,” she said.

Demand for services and supports through KLH is greater than ever, Maxwell said, with 2,198 households on the waiting list for community housing, including 438 in the County. The average wait time for new applicants is 10 to 14 years.

“It’s a sad situation… but the reality is things need to change [before we can bring any new units online]. Everybody at the municipal level here in the City and County are doing whatever they can to make it happen. This is purely a financial matter, it’s not a matter of political will,” she said