Council members disagreed over what progress has been made towards the aging in place project after a previous Willow Square letter from 2011 surfaced. A report was presented at the council meeting by the Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corporation that covered a cost study of the different Willow Square options that could be used. Local resident Gary Exner stepped to the council with some of his concerns over the letter from 2011 that WBHDC president Bryan Lutes sent out. The letter states in part “The site would hold the new centre on a portion of it, with the balance of the site to remain vacant for potential future use for seniors housing. The redevelopment offers a one-time opportunity to maximize the benefits of the site’s location for the entire community. Restricting the site to seniors only is not in the best interest of the community and needs to be looked at prior to making a final decision on the use of the site.”

Gary Exner addressed the council members regarding his concerns over the Willow Square letter. Lutes sent the July 11, 2011 letter to Lloyd Snelgrove who was Minister of Finance at the time. Exner expressed doubts about the ability of the WBHDC to be independent and believes that Lutes is to blame. “I would suggest that had that letter not been written, my guesstimate is that today, we’d probably have an operational Aging in Place facility that probably would have had a ribbon-cutting in the fall of 2014.” Do you agree with Exner?