Council upholds previous decision on central library renewal for Regina

Election looming at municipal level WATCH: Ahead of November’s Regina election, there are several items councillors want to push through. Donovan Maess reports.

Following hours of discussion and debate at a special council meeting Tuesday, councillors voted not to reconsider a previous Central Library renewal project funding decision.

The July 9th decision approved up between $92 million and $119 million in debt funding along with a 5.5 per cent dedicated mil rate increase built into property taxes to rebuild the Regina Public Library’s (RPL) Central Library.

“I really pleased council confirmed the decision they made so we can continue moving forward,” RPL Board Chair Marj Gavigan told reporters following council’s decision. “[We’re] confident we’ll get some great responses from developers.”

“And some great ideas the city of Regina will have a great, renewed central library at some point,” she added.

Reconsideration Motion

Council ultimately upheld their original decision with a tight 6-4 vote.

The motion for reconsideration was brought forward by Coun. Nelson, Stadnichuk, Bresciani and Zachidniak.

They were the four to vote in favour while the remaining councilors upheld the previous decision. Coun. Mohl recused himself from the discussion for conflict of interest.

The July meeting was also a specially scheduled meeting to allow council another opportunity to discuss items. But only seven council members were around to approve the debt funding for the library.

Nelson, Stadnichuk, Bresciani and Zachidniak felt the decision was hastily made.

“I don’t understand why we catapulted [this] decision ahead of the indoor aquatics facility,” Coun. Stadnichuk said. “It’s desperately needed but I don’t want to secure that before we secure financing for the indoor aquatics centre.”

Tuesday’s meeting came with just 10 days remaining in this council’s term prior to an upcoming civic election November 13.

Coun. Zachidniak, who was away from the July meeting, felt the necessary information needed to make the approval is not available yet.

“Delaying this for a few months to make sure we’re making the best decision the next council is able is the best way to proceed with good governance,” she said. “I think our residents want us to proceed with one project at a time.”

“Not make a whole bunch of decisions on our way out the door,” Zachidniak added.

Coun. Bresciani, who has announced her bid to run for the Mayor’s office in the upcoming civic election, said approving the debt is not fiscally responsible.

“The timing of this is politically wrong,” she told councilors. “I want to leave the next council in a better place.”

'We've already done that'

The public library says they have been asking for a replacement for the central library location since 2009.

Council has repeatedly referred planning and design for RPL to come forward with money to fund the project but Gavigan says they have been unable to do so without a commitment in funding from the city.

“It’s frustrating we would come with a proposal on what we want to do and someone from city council would say, ‘how much is that going to cost?’” she explained. “Then we tell [them] how much money we’re going to need and the response we get is, ‘We don’t even know what you’re building.”

Gavigan says as the possibility of further delay grew, so did RPL’s frustration.

“We’ve already done that,” she said. “We’ve answered those questions and provided [council] with the information.”

In his questioning of the RPL board during the meeting, Coun. Mancinelli reiterated the long process the library renewal project has been.

“Have you provided any new information to [us]?” he asked the board.

“No,” Gavigan responded.

“Have you provided any new information in years?” Mancinelli followed up.

“The basis of this project has remained the same for 15 years,” said RPL project manager Mitch Kolbeck.

In his closing comments, Mancinelli said this process has been the result of kicking a decision down the road.

“One million dollars has been spent just trying to get it in front of council for us to make a decision,” he said. “And we want to run away yet again.”

Mancinelli believes the decision was not a last-minute effort before November’s civic election.

“A council term is four years. That’s four years to make decisions and that’s what I’m doing,” he added. “I don’t need political points about trying to make people scared to show my fiscal responsibility by throwing a decision down the road.”

'Frustration'

Coun. Nelson says taxpayers have told her council is making decisions, “they can’t afford.”

“What do you think about their frustration?” she asked the RPL board.

“I appreciate there are those taxpayers,” Gavigan said. “But I’ve talked to taxpayers who are pretty frustrated the 11 people sitting around this table can’t make a decision.”

Later in the meeting, Nelson said these decisions were better made as part of the budget process.

“[Residents] are angry they’re on the hook for a bunch of people’s wish projects,” she said.

The proposed mil rate increase would amount to just over 90 cents per month for the average Regina household.

“It’s not just 91 cents,” Nelson added. “It’s time and time again we’re asking people to do this. Enough is enough.”

Coun. Hawkins supported the decision.

“Costs are rising here but the need is compelling,” he said. “It’s imperative. It’s urgent.”

“Delay [would] induce uncertainty and uncertainty with this project is the last thing we need,” Hawkins added.

“There’s a cost for stalling,” Mayor Sandra Masters told reporters following Tuesday’s meeting. “Every time we kick the can down the road, we are costing the taxpayer money.”

Debt Funding

The RPL Central Library renewal project is a part of the city’s latest debt limit increase request to the Saskatchewan Municipal Board.

But administration reminded councilors several times Tuesday that does not mean they are going into debt with the approval.

“We have not borrowed a dollar,” Director of Corporate Services Ted Schisler told council. “It doesn’t cost us anything until we go to the market and borrow the money.”

Gavigan says the approval allows the RPL to move forward with the necessary work to answer council’s several concerns.

“We’ve already been putting money in reserves,” she said. “And when we access the debt, we’ll be paying that back. It’s not a gift from the city.”

“We’re just setting aside a chunk of our debt to either guarantee a lease or guarantee a potential renovation or a rebuild or whatever it is,” Masters said.

“But we need them to go and invest in the next progress.”

The proposed debt funding and potential mil rate increases will require final council approval at future budget declarations before they are cemented.