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The province may be reviewing the real-estate transaction that put two properties into the hands of a numbered company.
Citizen photo by David Mah
Province eyes purchase of controversial property
Minister describes real-estate transaction as ‘fishy'
Gordon Hoekstra Citizen staff
The B.C. government revealed Monday it has taken action on the controversial transfer of a building that houses the Prince George Metis Housing Society by taking out an option to purchase the property at 1224 Houston Lane.
The province may also be pursuing a review of the transaction that put the building into the hands of a numbered company held by a former husband and wife intimately involved in the housing society and also involved in the society that owned the 1224 Houston Lane property.
“Our position, quite frankly, is let’s get the property under control by us, and we’ll manage it with the Metis housing society, and we don’t have this other piece hanging around,” said B.C. Minister of Housing and Social Development Rich Coleman.
The Metis housing society has a
10-year lease for office space at 1224 Houston Lane.
Buying the building would allow the province to put a mortgage and operation plan in place for the society to help stabilize their operations, noted Coleman.
“If we can pick up the building, we’ll be able to adjust their (P.G. Metis Housing) lease so there’s more money available for their operational side,” he said.
Coleman stressed the original real estate transaction, that saw the building transferred to the numbered company, had nothing to do with B.C. Housing, which provides funds to the 167 subsidized housing units provided by P.G. Metis Housing. As reported in The Citizen last week, two Houston Lane properties held by the Apehtaw Kosisan Metis Child and Family Support Society for 12 years were transferred in August 2008 to a numbered company in a transaction that appeared to violate B.C. Society Act rules. The numbered company was held by Ken and Murline Browning, according to B.C.’s corporate registry.
Both Brownings (who sources say are estranged) were involved in the Metis child and support society, Ken Browning as president in 2007 and Murline Browning as bookkeeper in the same year, according to society documents.
The pair were also involved in the P.G. Metis Housing Society, Ken Browning as the chief administrator until he resigned before the end of 2009 following a review by B.C. Housing, but before the numbered company he held purchased the building in 2008. At the time, the housing society had a lease at 1224 Houston Lane, making Browning the landlord of the housing society he headed up.
Murline Browning was listed as a special advisor to the P.G. Metis Housing board in 2007, and as an
employee of the housing society in 2008 as tenant relations officer, in society documents obtained by The Citizen.
Coleman said they will purchase the 1224 Houston Lane property for less than its appraised value. “But it will still look that these other guys (who Coleman never named) made some money, and I think that’s where the non-arms-length transaction is going to have to come under review by somebody,” said Coleman, characterizing the transaction as smelling fishy.
“Once we know the details behind that, we may actually ask for that review,” said Coleman, adding it may be something the province asks the Real Estate Council of B.C. to examine.
Documents from B.C. Land Titles and the B.C. Assessment Authority show that the sale of 1224 and 1239 Houston Lane to the numbered company was for a combined price of $149,100. That was well below the listed sale price of $499,800 for the two properties this year, and the province’s assessed value of the properties at $430,800 in 2008.
The property at 1224 Houston Lane, which has a price tag of $399,900, had a “sold” tag posted on the for-sale sign last week.
The Society Act allows for the dispersal of society assets, but only if fair market value is received, according to information provided to The Citizen by the
B.C. Ministry of Finance.
The act also forbids the sale of assets to members of the society and, while it is not clear whether the Brownings were on the membership list of the Apehtaw society in 2008, they were clearly involved in the society. Ken Browning was one of the signatories to the creation of the Apehtaw Kosisan society in 1992 — and as such, a member of the society—and was listed as president in 2005, according to B.C. corporate registry documents. Murline Browning held the position of executive director while the society was operating federally-funded child care services in the late 90s, according to news stories at the time.
The Apehtaw Kosisan board members contacted by The Citizen don’t appear to know how the Houston Lane properties ended up in the hands of the numbered company held by the Brownings.
The board of the P.G. Metis Housing Society, most of whom were also on the Apehtaw Kosisan board, were replaced by B.C. Housing before last Christmas. The province has seconded an executive from B.C. Housing as the housing society’s interim chief administrator.
“That’s to help the new board transition into an operation with some better management procedures because we still think they are an important piece of our puzzle with regards to First Nations housing,” said Coleman.
Police name accident victim
Frank Peebles Citizen staff
Chris Bennett witnessed the crash Saturday night that killed a 48-year-old man.
Citizen photo by David Mah
HONDA NORTH
The man killed in Saturday night’s pedestrian collision has been identified, The Citizen has learned, as Stanley Heavysides, 48.
Also, Sandra Cassidy, 68, of Prince George is facing five charges in relation to the incident.
Witnesses to the incident saw a woman driving a dark-coloured Ford Escape change directions four times, and twice jump the Ospika Boulevard median, before striking Heavysides as he walked home at about 8
p.m. that night at the intersection of Melody Crescent.
“I saw [the vehicle] bounce off the curb and bounce off my tree,” said Wesley Lazette, who lived in the house the Escape nearly drove into after taking out a neighbouring fence and Heavysides with it. Lazette said it looked like Heavysides had attempted to move out of the way, but was nonetheless struck by the SUV.
“She put it in reverse and went backwards, fast, towards the gentleman (Heavy-sides) again,” Lazette said.
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