Summary

Thanks to extensive consultations, astute financial management and the incorporation of energy-saving technologies, a 67-unit development in Ontario’s Niagara Region provides affordable housing for seniors, and delivers environmental and social benefits without an ongoing operating subsidy.

Context

Ontario’s Niagara region, like many regions across Canada, faces a longstanding and chronic shortage of affordable housing, particularly for seniors. Niagara Regional Housing (NRH) is responsible for community housing in the area. Governed by a Board of Directors comprised of Niagara Regional Councillors and community members, NRH provides a spectrum of low-income housing options through a combination of legislated programs and services. NRH’s current wait times for affordable housing range from 3 to 18 years, depending on the applicant’s location and requirements.

To ease the chronic shortage, NRH partnered with several funders to design and construct a financially sustainable 67-unit low-rise building. Rental rates range from rent-geared-to-income (RGI) to affordable (80% of the average rents as published in CMHC’s annual market survey) to the low end of local market rates. The project, located in Welland, also delivers a wealth of environmental and social benefits, and funds a 50-year capital reserve for the replacement of key systems and infrastructure.

Approach

NRH chose to locate the project adjacent to one of its existing buildings and to consult extensively with the 29 seniors who reside there. NRH also hosted sessions at Welland City Hall to consult with the general public, promote the project and offer assistance to interested applicants. Input from existing tenants informed several design choices, such as layouts and the inclusion of one-piece shower units (instead of bathtubs with showers).Other principles that guided the project include: universal accessibility; aging-in-place wellness model; incorporating a mix of geared-to-income and market rents; and exceeding current building-code requirements for energy by at least 40%. To ensure ongoing financial self-sufficiency, the project’s operating budget funds the replacement of all building components over their lifecycle.

“Birchwood Place demonstrates that a new community housing project can be financially self-sufficient while minimizing environmental impacts and fostering a good quality of life for residents.”
– Donna Woiceshyn, CEO, Niagara Regional Housing

Transcript

Environmental Measures

• Geothermal system circulates water through underground loops and into each unit for heating and cooling. Should the system prove inadequate, tenants can activate electric heaters from the temperature controller installed in each unit.
• Regenerative-drive elevators require less energy to operate and generate less heat. When descending, the elevator’s braking mechanism powers a turbine that generates electricity to be fed back into the grid.
• Tenants collect organic waste and deposit it in bins that maintenance staff put out for curbside collection
• Rainwater collected and used for site irrigation, reducing consumption of treated water
• Low-flow water fixtures reduce consumption of treated water
• Charging station for electric vehicles encourages their use
• Green living wall in lobby improves quality of indoor air
• Smoke-free building

Fully occupied since its completion in 2014, the project earned the Region of Niagara its first LEED® Silver certification for a social housing building. The project also incorporates common areas and outdoor spaces to promote socialization and well-being. The site is adjacent to public transit and has limited parking spaces for vehicles. “The tenants love the building and are proud of the sense of community it helps to create,” says Donna Woiceshyn, CEO, Niagara Regional Housing. “They run activities such as bingo and celebrations, and decorate the common room for various holidays.”

Lessons Learned

Self-subsidization works.
Of the 67 units, 23 (34%) are rent-geared-to-income, 26 (39%) are affordable (at 80% of CMHC market rates). The market rents charged for other units, along with relatively low mortgage rates and the initial support of funders, enable the project to operate without ongoing operating subsidy.

New technologies can be more challenging and costlier to maintain than current ones.
NRH found it difficult to obtain the mechanical expertise locally needed to maintain the project’s geothermal system and regenerative-drive elevators, due to the newness of the technologies. The contractor who installed the geothermal system maintained it for the first year; NRH then found a company from nearby St. Catharines that trains its own technicians to perform ongoing maintenance work. Expertise is likely more available in larger cities and for technologies that are more established. NRH advises those considering similar projects to require that installers of key building components provide maintenance manuals and onsite staff training, and that the training be videotaped and shared with future staff.

Investments in geothermal heating and cooling systems may not generate positive returns.
The geothermal systems at Birchwood Place deliver valuable environmental benefits, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However, the installation and maintenance costs have negated the savings in avoided energy costs at current rates. NRH originally anticipated that these savings would cover the cost of the geothermal system within 25 years. It currently estimates that the system will at best break even over its lifecycle, as higher-than-anticipated maintenance costs reduce return on investment.

Regenerative-drive elevators can be more expensive to install and maintain than traditional models.
Higher-than-anticipated maintenance costs for the regenerative-drive elevators also reduce return on investment. NRH’s experience with the elevators and geothermal system suggests that housing providers should study in detail any new technology’s costs and benefits, paying attention to the availability of local expertise and evaluating operational costs, before deciding to use the technology.

Educate tenants about proper operation of energy-efficient equipment.
Each apartment connects to the geothermal network and has a temperature controller. Should the network fail, the tenant can use the temperature controller to activate the electric-heat backup system. Initially, some tenants activated the back-up system unnecessarily, incurring additional utility costs. Part of the problem is that the controllers are relatively complex to operate. While the tenant handbook describes how to operate the controllers properly, some tenants required additional guidance. Maintenance staff now work with each new tenant to set a heating and cooling schedule that meets their needs.

Use LEED-like principles rather than pay for certification process.
The LEED® certification process required additional costs, but provided no additional value or benefits to tenants. NRH recommends that project leads consider LEED standards instead of LEED certification.

Contact

Donna Woiceshyn
CEO, Niagara Regional Housing
905-682-9201
donna.woiceshyn@niagararegion.ca

Lethbridge County, Alberta, (population 10,061) started working on its asset management in 2018 because its employees and Council recognized the need for a reliable and ongoing strategy to manage the municipality’s assets. After receiving a grant from the Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP) in 2018, the team began moving through the program’s Asset Management Readiness Scale (AMRS). (MAMP has approved 71 grants in Alberta since its founding and provided training through MAMP-funded partners to more than 350 Albertans.) By using the AMRS, the team knew they’d chart a safe and smart path forward to guide the city’s decision making for decades to come.

Challenge

Though it had already moved through Level 1 of the AMRS, the team needed a new plan to bring its asset management to life. It required a clear strategy and a roadmap to move from theory to action. This was the focus of its Policy & Governance work in Level 2.

Approach

Members of the asset management team benefitted immensely from training provided by several of MAMP’s partner organizations. Elected officials and municipal staff members participated in a variety of awareness-building and training events offered by Alberta Urban Municipalities Association and Rural Municipalities of Alberta (jointly), Canadian Urban Transit Association, NAMS Canada and the Canadian Network of Asset Managers

The municipality also hired an asset management consultant to help the team make accurate assessments before it crafted an implementation plan.

Barriers

It can be a challenge to ensure that Council members are regularly trained and engaged on relevant aspects of asset management, alongside staff. Though the Council participated as much as possible, employee team members had more training in asset management processes and its benefits than others involved in the process. This knowledge gap was noticeable during the early stages of the project.

Results

Lethbridge moved to Level 2 in the AMRS’s Policy & Governance competency by completing three steps:

1. Policy and objectives: It completed its formal Asset Management Policy, which was adopted by council and endorsed by the senior management team.
2. Strategy and framework: It completed a State of Maturity Report and a Systems Maturity Report, both of which contain strategies for the next two phases of work.
3. Measurement and monitoring: It outlined, documented and tracked its objectives through regularly scheduled asset management team meetings and an ‘Action Tracker’.

Lethbridge also moved from Level 1 to Level 2 in several other competencies in the AMRS, including People & Leadership and Planning and Decision-making. It moved to Level 3 in Data & Information as well as Contribution to Asset Management Practice. It’s worth noting that municipalities rarely work on one competency in isolation. Rather, they typically find that work on one competency helps them progress in others.

Road in Lethbridge County, Alberta

Benefits

1. The consultant provided in-house training to a large group, which meant more people than expected received training for a lower-than-anticipated cost. The team transferred the savings to the rest of the project and had a well-trained team.
2. The group training increased interest in asset management and related processes. Employees who thought they might not have a significant role in asset management now understand where they fit in.
3. Asset management is now a budgetary and departmental priority. It’s a budget item, and generates significant discussions amongst Council.

"We know we’re moving in the right direction with our asset management. Our project team is connecting departments in new ways so that, as a municipality, we continuously strive to improve our decision-making processes together. We all have a stake in getting asset management right so that we can ensure we provide safe, reliable and sustainable services to our residents and improve levels of service."

– Michael Bly, GIS and Asset Coordinator, Lethbridge County

What they learned

Get support: Having clear support from Council and senior management is critical. It allowed the team to complete this project and deem it a success. With the right support, the team was able to adjust finances and resources as required.

Assign a lead: Assign a champion to head up your asset management project to lead the team through the necessary steps. This person plays a major role in keeping team members and others engaged in the process and in maintaining momentum. It’s tough to progress without someone leading the effort.

Establish a cross-functional team: Having a focused, engaged and dedicated asset management team helps make asset management a high priority in your organization. Ensure that all members have dedicated time assigned to this project so they can put in the effort needed to help it succeed.

Schedule regular team meetings: This keeps each team member engaged in the overall project work. It also encourages the regular discussion of progress across teams that depend on each other to accomplish overarching objectives.

Prioritize Council’s asset management awareness: Council’s support is not enough. You have to keep up their asset management-related educational opportunities. It’s imperative that they understand asset management’s importance, benefits and processes as well as the employee team, so everyone can make well-informed decisions together.

Next steps

The Lethbridge team is focused on three areas for next steps:

1. Asset inventory validation: They will continue to work with a consultant to help disaggregate and validate spatial data against financial data.
2. Gap analysis and lifecycle strategy: They will further strengthen their data by defining life cycle strategies and applying these against their assets. This will involve identifying deficiencies and addressing them, and further refining and developing risk models against all asset classes.
3. Policies and processes: They will develop formal asset management processes within the organization. They will also create a data governance policy (i.e., define asset management practices and work flows across the organization to ensure that data integrity is maintained).

There’s significant work ahead, but the team understands the positive impact that accomplishing these objectives will have on its long-term asset planning.

Contact

Devon Thiele, Infrastructure Manager, Lethbridge County
403-317-6055
dthiele@lethcounty.ca

Michael Bly, GIS and Asset Coordinator
403-380-1578
mbly@lethcounty.ca

Related resource

1. International Infrastructure Management Manual (IIMM)

In 2007, the Municipality of Brockton, Ontario, initiated its work in asset management, knowing that it wanted to lay out clear asset management objectives and create an implementation plan. It hoped to bring multiple teams across the organization into alignment through common goals.

MAMP has provided 686 asset management grants in Ontario since its founding and provided training through MAMP-funded partners to more than 1,500 Ontarians.

The challenge

This municipality has the third lowest taxable assessment within Bruce County, ON. Yet it has hundreds more kilometres of roadway and more than double the number of bridges and culverts of nearby areas. Like many other municipalities, its human resources are stretched thin and its municipal employees wear multiple work hats.

Like many other municipalities, Brockton began preparing to meet Ontario regulations for asset management in 2009. It updated its asset management plan in 2016. Its employees and Council also recognized the need to get a handle on the municipality’s long-term financial stability and ongoing infrastructure renewal.

Practically, the team needed some training and guidance from a consultant so it could chart a path forward, working together on the templates for gathering information.

Approach

Team members benefited significantly from training with the Municipal Asset Management Program’s (MAMP’s) partner organizations. They participated in opportunities including an event facilitated by the Association of Ontario Road Supervisors on “Asset Management for Small to Medium Sized Municipalities”, attending a webinar hosted by the Canadian Network of Asset Managers, taking the NAMS Professional Certificate in Asset Management Planning and attending asset management training offered by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE).

The team also built its in-house capacity by hiring an external consultant to guide it as it created a plan to accomplish the objectives in Level 2 of FCM’s Asset Management Readiness Scale (AMRS).

In particular, the team was interested in fulfilling objectives in the Policy & Governance competency, which requires that municipalities put asset management policies and objectives in place and start bringing them to life. It also focused on the Data & Information competency.

Brockton’s employees used a workbook to help frontline workers conduct consistent condition assessments of the Municipality's assets and record accurate data. The tool can be populated with identifiers and location data, physical properties data and financial data. The tool’s design links several departments’ interests, a key element of good asset management governance.

"This work really allowed our municipality to get a handle on managing our assets responsibly. It’s a relief to know where we stand and what we need to do next so we can provide our community with a continuous level of service."

–Trish Serratore, Chief Financial Officer, Municipality of Brockton

Barriers

Despite the contextual barriers already mentioned (low taxation and high infrastructure needs), the team’s work was relatively barrier-free insofar as it had great support from Council.

Over the course of this multi-year initiative, leadership changes led to challenges in knowledge transfer for certain aspects of the project. However, with diligence and perseverance, everyone on the team had the knowledge base required to ensure data accuracy and keep the project schedule on track. The team worked steadily toward its goals.

Results

Brockton’s successes in several areas contributed to its achieving Level 2 in the AMRS Policy & Governance competency:

1. Policy and objectives: It completed an asset management policy, which was adopted as Asset Management By-Law: 2018 -075.
2. Strategy and roadmap: It drafted An Asset Management Maturity Report.

It also took a meaningful step under the Data & Information competency by creating Condition Assessment Guidelines and a workbook to encourage consistent data collection.

Completing an asset management policy that has been endorsed by Council means there’s concrete direction available to the team. The employees and Council now understand the usefulness of the policy and it serves as a reference point, not a dust collector.

Caption: Ariel view of the Municipality of Brockton.

Benefits

1. The focus on Policy & Governance helped the team clarify its next steps in asset management and plan a path forward.
2. With new tools and data, the team is establishing a comprehensive overview of the city’s assets. Employees and elected officials are already making better long-range replacement decisions based on concrete information. For example, in recent budget discussions, employees recommended a new hydrant fee to offset operational costs for hydrants (condition assessments, future capital upgrades, etc.).
3. There’s a more formalized asset management team now in place to provide regular updates.
4. Employees and Council understand the importance of maintaining comprehensive records so they can avoid short-term reactions and embrace more stable, long-term planning.

What they learned

Develop a team: It’s essential to have employees with different skill sets and perspectives involved from the beginning of your asset management process. Create a cross-functional asset management planning team—they’ll have key knowledge you might not initially realize is important.

Get buy-in from everyone: Creating the team is the first step, but it’s essential that you create a policy that can be followed by everyone who will need to help implement it. Getting buy-in, even at the policy stage, is crucial, so you know that it’s realistic and can be carried forward.

Start early: It takes time to complete the requirements at each level of the AMRS well. Bringing an entire city’s asset data up to date means staying on top of the ongoing process, so the sooner you start, the better. One of the best ways to get things moving is creating a policy that moves an asset management agenda forward. Later on, you can set up a database that simplifies tracking your information so you can see what’s out of date and address it.

Take time, don't rush: Moving too quickly can lead to results that are incomplete, insufficient or incorrect. Your source data must be correct and analyzed to ensure that it’s accurate. If there are errors, employees, Council and the public won’t trust the new system you’ve built. It’s better to establish a diverse team early on and work slowly, together, to develop something strong and reliable.

Next steps

In terms of asset management, Brockton’s Council has now completed its road and infrastructure condition assessment as well as the camera survey of the city’s sewers.

Its next steps will include a deeper look at facility assessments, which it began in 2019 by looking at its arena and school. The team is looking to complete more detailed needs assessments and condition assessments for a daycare, library and several community centres.

In terms of its Policy & Governance focus, Brockton plans to add measurement and monitoring to its asset management work. That’s part of achieving Level 3 on the AMRS.

The team is moving steadily through the scale and is already seeing the positive results of its new approach.

Contact

For infrastructure inquires, contact Jessica Rodgers
GIS Technician, Municipality of Brockton
jrodgers@brockton.ca
1-877-885-8084

For financial information and planning, contact Trish Serratore
Chief Financial Officer, Municipality of Brockton
tserratore@brockton.ca
1-877-885-8084

Related resources

1. Municipality of Brockton’s Asset Management Policy and Asset Management Plan
2. NAMS Canada Professional Certificate in Asset Management Planning