Perhaps it’s a given that people who attend an open house on seniors’ housing are interested in hearing what’s being planned, but only for “when we get older.”
That, in essence, was the feeling that Management Consultant Rick Beaupre got after reviewing the surveys that some participants handed in as they left an open house in Slave Lake last month. Still, he’s hoping that more of the 30 or 40 people who attended the meeting will return their questionnaires in the coming weeks.
And he promised that much more information will be available when the planning committee hosts its next meeting in the fall.
Close to 40 Slave Lake and area residents showed up for the open house early last month. But when all was said and done that night, only seven returned their surveys, and three (five people) said they were ready to ‘sign on the dotted line’ this year for a life lease unit that’s being proposed as an extension to Vanderwell Heritage Place.
And that just isn’t enough for the Slave Lake Housing Authority.
“Given the amount of work involved” in planning for and building a life lease project, “we’d probably need something in the order of a dozen or so” units to make a commitment to proceed, said Beaupre in a later interview.
That said, however, he expects more people may be ready to commit when they have more specifics – and even detailed drawings of the one and two-bedroom suites in the fall. That’s why he’s not giving up on the group just yet. In fact, given the lack of specifics on this project, he’s not surprised. As a rule, he says, planners are happy when as many as 20 per cent return questionnaires. And there were several who asked for an address where they could mail the completed forms after they’ve had a little more time to consider the options. Time will tell if that response number grows.
And if the Housing Authority’s mailbox doesn’t fill to overflowing with questionnaires in coming weeks, Beaupre won’t be surprised.
“I guess it means that either we don’t have further interest, or as often happens, they’ve forgotten” to return the document.
Either way, Beaupre says the group that’s planning for an expansion at the lodge – and possibly a life-lease addition – will host another meeting in the fall. And he promised that they’ll have many more specifics for potential buyers to consider.
“Of course in terms of timing, the best opportunity would be during the construction phase (Phase I, the expansion of Vanderwell Lodge) of the addition and renovations.
“However, it is possible to proceed with the life lease project sometime after the initial construction phase. But the cost might be higher if it’s done as a stand-alone project. And a follow-up meeting will be scheduled – and advertised – for early this fall.”
At the meeting last month, Denny Garratt, reeve for the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River opened the meeting with a warning.
The planning group itself is still short on some specifics itself, he said, “so if (Beaupre) says ‘We don’t know’, we really don’t know,” he told the audience.
That said, however, Beaupre did tell those gathered that if there is enough interest shown, the Housing Authority and its planning committee might opt to proceed with a Life Lease program even as the lodge expansion continues.
He gave a general overview of planning to date, pointing to some schematics that reveal the proposed ‘footprint’ that would have the life lease component attached to the east side of the lodge. Rooms could be studio suites, or of the one or two-bedroom variety, he said. And residents in that project will have access to essentially all the amenities that are or will be available at the lodge.
Saying that all those who turned in their surveys want more information, he added that might also encourage others to get on board.
“It will be good to have another meeting when we get a little more information,” he admitted, adding that he’ll ask architects for more specifics over the summer.
“And it’s also good to note that those (pictorially on display at the meeting) were lodge suites, not necessarily what the life lease would be.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
Watch upcoming issues of The Leader for information on the next public meeting on the proposed Life Lease program.

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