MOOSE JAW — Residents who use Riverside Mission’s food and shelter services will have to look elsewhere for the next two weeks as the venue has temporarily shuttered to battle a bug infestation.
Souls Harbour Rescue Mission (SHRM), which oversees the Moose Jaw-based charity, closed the building on Aug. 7 so it could professionally fumigate it and eliminate an outbreak of cockroaches. The organization expects to reopen the kitchen, dining room, and shelter on Tuesday, Aug. 20.
September 2022 was the last time SHRM closed the venue to fumigate.
No staff will be laid off during this two-week break.
Joe Miller, executive director of SHRM, explained that Riverside Mission’s building is more than 100 years old and has holes and cracks where bugs can enter. Furthermore, the charity has had challenges passing fire and health inspections because of the building’s state.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority recently told SHRM that it must treat the venue professionally to eliminate the cockroaches. Therefore, Riverside Mission must suspend services so cleaners can fumigate twice to kill everything.
“We are closed for health reasons,” Miller said. “It’s bad because (bugs and cockroaches) can hide everywhere.”
Riverside Mission will have to restock its shelves because staff threw out all open bags of dry food — such as flour and sugar — to ensure the cleaning was thorough. They also threw out old furniture where bugs could conceivably hide.
It's unfortunate that Riverside Mission cannot provide food and shelter during the next two weeks — it offers 100 meals daily — but Square One Community Inc. has said it could help, said Miller. SHRM will determine how it can support Square One’s efforts.
The executive director pointed out that this situation shows how much Riverside Mission needs a new building and that construction must begin soon. Moreover, it shows that the non-profit plays a vital role in Moose Jaw. However, there are some obstacles to that project.
“What (this) really (shows) is that certain members of the community don’t see the value of this (proposed) new facility and trying to serve these people,” he added. “Maybe, unfortunately, this is a bit of a taste of what it would look like if we weren’t there to do the services.”
Building permit issues
Miller wants the project to proceed but is experiencing delays in acquiring a building permit from city hall’s planning and development department.
He met with department staff about a month ago to discuss the application and was told this project was the only major commercial development in the queue, and SHRM should have the permit in three weeks.
However, when his general contractor contacted the department recently, the tradesman was told engineering services was reviewing the permit for possible drainage issues. Making matters worse was there was no one from engineering to speak about the delays since staff was on vacation.
“It’s hard not to think you’re being stalled, but I have nothing definitive to suggest that,” Miller said. “… you can’t help but wonder what’s going on behind the scenes.”
In an email to the Express, a city spokeswoman said the planning department is still reviewing the building permit for 212 and 218 River Street West. This process requires the city to engage with several of its departments and consult with external agencies.
This process typically takes three to four weeks for residential permits and up to six to eight weeks for commercial/larger applications, the email added. Summer vacation can also affect this timeline.
Several major businesses and organizations have allegedly asked Miller to move the proposed shelter to a different location, such as the former Boston Pizza location on Manitoba Street East. Moreover, others have taken a “back door approach” and contacted the general contractor to find a different location.
“We just need to get our building in the ground … . It’s got to get going. We can look at wraparound services after that,” Miller said.
The executive director added that while the delays are frustrating, he has received “a lot” of positive support — donations, emails and phone calls — from the community since his presentation to city council on July 8.
