Hamilton’s Barton/Tiffany outdoor temporary emergency shelter project has been beleaguered with administrative hiccups and delays.
Up until this point, all the problems have been understandable and frankly preferable in the circumstances: the City was moving with urgency to get individuals into warm and safe shelters ‘before the snow flies.’
It Can Be Good for Government to Be Fast
We need the government to move fast (and yes, ‘break things‘). All too often, basic projects take years [and millions of dollars on consultants] to get done.
Errors of speed are an acceptable trade-off. Put another way, don’t let perfection get in the way of completion.
People are homeless now, the ‘snow is flying,’ and proven solutions need to be implemented immediately.
Failure of Basic Diligence: City Hires Firm Incorporated in August as Middleman
The City decided to skip the part about proven solutions also decided to skip on due diligence for the most important part: the purchase of 40 tiny shelters and ancillary structures.
Instead of hiring firms with proven records of delivering projects and shelters in stock, the City sought out and chose a new company called Microshelters Inc.
Microshelters Inc incorporated on August 28, 2024. They have no listed experience delivering any micro-shelter or similar projects. (The firm and the City emphasize that Microshelters is an “Indigenous-owned company”)
Now, Microshelters Inc is facing potential legal action from the American company whose product it presented as its own.
The tiny shelters and structures have not arrived as scheduled, the City is not sure where they are – beyond they are being shipped from overseas, and there is no firm date for when they will arrive.
Microshelter’s Unauthorized Use of Another Company’s Work
Microshelters Inc.’s website is now offline after a California manufacturer issued a legal letter to stop the unauthorized use of its materials.
As reported by TheSpec, images on the website were taken from Calfornia company Foldum.
Foldum states it has no affiliation with Microshelters Inc., and was unaware the Canadian company with misrepresenting itselve.
Microshelters Inc website also took images of Foldum’s successful Salt Lake City deployment from KUTV’s website, and interior images from Foldum’s deployment in Oregon.
On it’s “news page,” Microshelters lists work done by Foldum.
(Editors note: Microshelters Inc. also plagiarized text from TPR without attribution.)
City Hall Goes Silent
During a Thursday (December 19) press conference, the City would not definitively state where the ordered shelters are, only they were being shipped from overseas.
Mayor Andrea Horwath and City Manager Marnie Cluckie were asked when they learned about the shipping issues.
Both responded stated they are ‘working diligently’ to determine when they will arriving, with expectations of mid-January delivery.
On Thursday, they continued to express confidence in Microshelters Inc.
On Friday, Foldum contacted The Hamilton Spectator after reading Microshelters Inc.’s claims.
In response City Hall told TheSpec that it doesn’t get involved in disputes involving its vendors and third-parties.
The City isn’t answering the important questions.
City Hall cannot point fingers at anyone but themselves, this fiasco was 100 percent preventable.
And 100 percent of the fault lands on the southwest corner of the second floor at 71 Main Street: the offices of Mayor Andrea Horwath and City Manager Marnie Cluckie.
The Mayor and City Manager Need A Plan That Works Before Christmas
They need a plan to acquire the tiny shelters, and they needed it weeks ago.
If I were in their position, I immediately order tiny shelters from a proven reliable supplier.
The worst thing that can happen is the Microshelters Inc. order arrives in the middle of January, proves to be up-to-code, the City ends up with a second set of shelters that it donates to the HATS project, and the City is criticized for spending more than it needed to.
The alternative is much worse: the Barton / Tiffany low-barrier outdoor emergency shelter does not open at all this winter.
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: December 23, 2024
Last updated: December 23, 2024
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
Mayor Horwath and City Council need to make this happen NOW.
The last few nights when the temperatures dipped dangerously low I was thinking of all the people trying to stay warm in a TENT!!
This is beyond shameful. The city needs to purchase new tiny shelters IMMEDIATELY from a trusted source!