Jim Pine, CAO of Hastings County, speaks to Belleville council February 27 2023. (Photo: Quinte News)
I saw a couple of articles earlier this week about Jim Pine, the Chief Administrative Officer for Hastings County. One announced his impending retirement and the other was regarding an ambitious and necessary Affordable Housing initiative across this region. The goal is to create 7,000 housing units by the end of this decade, so its called the “7 in 7” plan.
A Quinte News piece offers:
“We’ve got to do something because the housing problem just gets more serious by the day.” So said the CAO of Hastings County Jim Pine as he, County Warden Bob Mullin, and members of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) spoke to Belleville council Monday.
Jim is a member of Bridge St. United Church, my final congregation before retirement and he served on the board along the way. I figured I would email him my congratulations on both fronts and then I met him on the street in downtown Belleville. We had a chinwag about the crisis of housing across the country and touched on how jurisdictions in other parts of the world are taking a "housing first" approach to addressing poverty. This is certainly not an issue "out there" but almost literally next door.
Okay, the quality of the photo above makes Jim look a little like a shoplifter caught on CCTV, but I admire this plan and his part in it. I suppose this is a more public opportunity to thank Jim for his years of public service and for his forward thinking about the plight of the unhoused in our region. If this comes to fruition it will be an important legacy. Well done Jim!
Here is a link to the article:
https://www.quintenews.com/2023/02/27/time-to-go-big-on-affordable-housing/
2 comments:
This is good news - and it cannot get started soon enough !
It is well past time, Judy. Jim hoped that the target would be twice this number but is pleased with the shared commitment.
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