City council tables aquatic centre budget, approves debt-limit request

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A jam-packed August city council meeting saw a number of decisions on issues the Leader-Post has been tracking throughout the summer.

Here’s an update on a few of them:

Waffling on the Lawson’s future

City council will be delaying approval on a new $245.1-million budget for the proposed Indoor Aquatic Facility (IAF) in order to first explore how to fund an $84.4-million cost overrun.

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The IAF was approved at an original budget of $160.7 million in 2023 but administration says inflation and a more accurate estimate on the scope of the design have contributed to a burgeoning price tag.

Council voted in favour of waiting to approve the new budget until a supplemental report on alternate funding options comes back, expected by Oct. 2.

Coun. Terina Nelson (Ward 7) asked for a feasibility study on renovating the Lawson Aquatic Centre in order to inform council on the possibility of scaling back the project to save some dollars.

“Everything keeps coming up and up (in cost), and decisions I made two years ago did not have the knowledge I do now,” she said. “We need to take a second look at this.”

Ward 4 councillor Lori Bresciani also wanted to explore the idea of revamping the Lawson, now that council knows the facility doesn’t have to be decommissioned to meet requirements under the federal funding agreement.

Staff told executive committee last week that bringing the Lawson up to competitive code, and extending its life for at most another decade, would cost at least $28.5 million.

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Nelson pointed out that it would be a spread-out cost of $1.6 million per year for taxpayers compared to $6.7 million per year at the $245.1-million budget, plus a 15-per-cent inflation buffer.

Ted Schisler, acting deputy city manager of financial services, said the reason administrators have not considered the option to refurbish is because, two years ago, council told them not to.

A feasibility study on the Lawson was done in 2021 and presented in 2022, helping inform council’s decision to build a new facility.

The renovation idea would also be more than just a $28.5-million investment since that figure is from 2021 and subject to the same inflationary pressure that’s now hitting the IAF, said deputy city manager of city planning Deborah Bryden.

“It is not just redoing the walls or the pool deck,” Schisler added. “It’s a fundamental re-do … and it would mean the pool would be closed for some period of time — two or three years.”

Nelson’s amendment regarding a Lawson renovation study failed in a vote of 8-3. The original motion on exploring alternate funding passed unanimously.

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Increasing the debt limit, again

Despite anxiety from some councillors, the city will go ahead in asking the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB) for another debt-limit increase, this one totalling $230 million.

If granted by the regulator, Regina’s debt limit would rise from $660 million to $890 million, a hike tied to specific capital projects like the IAF and Central Library.

The city’s most-recent increase came just eight months ago when the SMB rejected an initial $330-million ask but settled on $210 million, bringing the total debt limit to $660 million.

The current debate became a battle of wills between councillors wanting to temper spending and those who want to make Regina a city with state-of-the-art facilities.

Ward 2 councillor Bob Hawkins said the projects receiving commitments are not “Taj Mahal projects,” as suggested by Bresciani, but necessary investments to avoid greater cumulative spending on aging assets within a decade.

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“People are telling me it’s too much,” said Coun. Shanon Zachidniak (Ward 8), before voting against the debt-limit increase

Nelson attempted to ask for a report on whether future debt increases could instead be tied to population size, as a policy, but was defeated in a 9-2 vote.

Her intention was to require the city to “practice what we preach” in regards to “living within our means.”

Schisler said population is already encapsulated indirectly in the city’s policy on debt ratios, which targets no more than 85 per cent of consolidated revenue.

“You don’t want to tie a decision or limit to something that doesn’t move in a direction you can try to control,” he said.

Returning money for Wascana Pool elevator

The goal of adding an accessible elevator to the waterslide at Wascana Pool has ended for now, as city council agreed to put money set aside for the project into other initiatives.

Of the $175,000 tied to a request for proposals that went unfilled, council approved returning $125,000 to the recreation budget from which it was pulled.

The remaining $50,000 will be provided to the Regina Senior Citizens’ Centre as an emergency operating grant, at Nelson’s request.

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Another elevator pitch could be made in the future as a new motion, but it will not proceed in 2025.

“There is nothing preventing anyone from working on one or raising money outside of administration,” said Mayor Sandra Masters.

Unfinished business pushed ahead

Council’s meeting once again ran long on Wednesday and adjourned with a few items pushed into the future.

Motions on respectful communication with city staff, new subclass categories for nuisance properties, and a report on the city’s land development and disposition strategy, were all tabled ahead to Sept. 25.

New motions to reconsider Central Library’s approved funding and to intervene in an ice-time dispute between a private hockey academy and recreational teams at the Brandt Centre will also be heard in September.

lkurz@postmedia.com

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