Regina councillors say approval of library funding was ‘premature’

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Four city councillors want to rethink money promised to the Regina Public Library (RPL) for a new main branch in light of a growing price tag for the Lawson Aquatic Centre’s replacement.

Earlier this month, council learned that the new Indoor Aquatic Facility (IAF) is facing an $84-million cost overrun. Now, a reconsideration motion for the previously approved library funding is set to be considered in September.

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Signed by Couns. Cheryl Stadnichuk (Ward 1), Lori Bresciani (Ward 4), Terina Nelson (Ward 7) and Shanon Zachidniak (Ward 8), the motion seeks to recall a decision made at a special meeting of council in July which guaranteed between $92 million and $119 million in city funding for a new Central Library.

The RPL has been discussing the need to replace its aging main branch since 2009. The most recent cost estimate for the project was about $125 million.

At a July meeting, administration recommended deferring the library budget to the fall so council could first hear updates on other capital projects. But council voted instead to grant the budget ask in full that day.

The vote was approved 4-3, with only seven councillors present.

“I think it was financially irresponsible,” said Nelson in an interview Tuesday. “Seven councillors making a decision of over $100 million is not responsible governance at all.”

A month later, council heard the IAF costs had grown to $245 million, which raised more red flags about previous spending commitments, said Nelson.

Administration has made it clear that five capital projects need nearly all of the city’s debt capacity to move forward as planned. Both the library and aquatic centre are on the list, along with the Water Network Expansion for the east side and upgrades to the city’s water treatment plant. The fifth priority is a grouping of smaller service-fee agreement projects, details of which were unspecified by administration.

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The city is petitioning the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB) for a second debt-limit increase in 12 months, hoping the provincial regulator will boost that number from $660 million to $890 million in order to accommodate all the projects on the table.

“The concern, for me, is just very quickly our debt commitments are getting unmanageable and that’s the concern that I’ve heard echoed by residents,” said Zachidniak on Tuesday.

She and her fellow councillors want to see debt financing plans reflect the priority order of capital projects, which places the two water network upgrades and the aquatic facility above the library.

It’s not that they don’t support a new Central Library, Zachidniak emphasized, but rather they want to consider whether now is the right time to grant a budget.

“It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t go ahead with financing the library,” said Zachidniak. “Just that we need to be careful in how we proceed.”

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Of all the projects that need city dollars in the next five years, Bresciani said the library appears to be the most “premature.”

The IAF must move forward, as the city is locked into funding agreements with other levels of government. And the Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade is “a need, not a want,” said Zachidniak.

RPL has not announced whether the central branch will be relocated or rebuilt at its current site on 12th Avenue. Meanwhile, other city projects are in design or construction stages.

“At this time, we have to be realistic,” Bresciani said in an interview Monday. “I don’t think we can take on all of these new projects all at once.”

She pointed back to conclusions by the city’s catalyst committee, which was formed in 2022 to try and find efficiency between several proposed projects in Regina. The committee emphasized the need for recreational projects to have funding partners so the costs don’t land fully “on the taxpayers of Regina.”

“Folks are continuing to struggle and can no longer absorb the tax increases that they perhaps once could … from all levels of government,” Zachidniak agreed. “It’s important that we do things in a sequential manner, so that we’re not overcommitting.”

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Several councillors who voted in favour of the RPL funding said they did so in service of investing in Regina’s downtown vibrancy and city growth goals.

The reconsideration motion’s signatories say they would be comfortable sticking with a 5.5-per-cent increase to the library mill rate, also approved in July, to begin building a project reserve fund for RPL. Those councillors say they are only asking to recall the budget approved in principle.

Administration has reminded councillors in past discussions that debt planning is fluid and the city will simultaneously be paying off past-accrued debt while new projects are progressing.

The reconsideration motion will be discussed on Sept. 18 and needs at least six councillors in favour to move forward.

lkurz@postmedia.com

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