Indoor Aquatics Facility Project sparks debate among Regina city council

The Lawson pool in Regina (CTV Regina)

The biggest item discussed at Regina’s executive committee meeting on Wednesday, both in scope and cost, was the Indoor Aquatics Facility Project.

The debate centered around committee recommending that city council approve a total project cost for the facility of $285.1 million.

A new report put in front of city councillors this week has increased the price tag of the new aquatic facility by $40 million. To fund these additional costs, it is being proposed $30 million come from the re-prioritization of projects in the 10-year Recreation/Culture Capital Plan. That includes $1.28 million from the city’s outdoor dog parks to the IAF Project.

Ward 5 Coun. Sarah Turnbull proposed a motion to take the $1.28 million from the city’s outdoor pools budget instead of dog parks, but the motion was lost by a vote of nine to one.

The allocation of the remaining $10 million needed for the facility is proposed to be added to the city’s available debt funding, increasing it from $146 million to $156 million.

According to administration, the extra $10 million added to the city’s debt would result in an increase in taxes of 57 cents per median household per month.

Ward 10 Coun. Clark Bezo was not satisfied with this number figure though and motioned to table the IAF discussion until September during budget meetings, so that administration could provide a more thorough dollar figure on Regina residents’ debt and tax bill.

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That motion was lost by a vote of eight to three, with Bezo, Ward 1 Coun. Dan Rashovich, and Ward 2 Coun. George Tsikilis voting in favour.

A handful of delegates were at Regina City Hall to make their case for the aquatic facility to move ahead.

Cyril Dorgigne with Regina Water Polo and Water Polo Saskatchewan claimed that Regina can’t currently support national and international water polo competitions due to the small pool size at the Lawson Aquatics Centre and that the new facility will allow the city of Regina to host such events.

“We are the only top 10 club in the country that cannot host national finals, because we need two feet of deep tank and right now, we can only have one in Regina,” he said.

Tracy Moser, the president of the Regina Piranhas Summer Swim Club, said there is limited pool space in Regina for competitive speed swimming. This summer, the club was forced to use some of the outdoor pools in the city due to a six-week closure of the University of Regina indoor pool. She said this challenge would be mitigated with a new aquatic facility.

When questioning Moser, Bezo suggested putting a roof onto the recently renovated Wascana Pool.

“We’ve got Wascana Pool which is a brand-new state of the art facility,” he said. What are your thoughts if we put a roof over that one and cancelled this project?”

Moser responded that would be a waste of dollars and would not sufficiently support sports like competitive swimming and water polo.

“Wascana would not meet the needs that we are looking for. We need 50 metres of length, you would never be able to host an event at Wascana, first of all with a roof overtop of it.”

Marj Walton, who is on the Indoor Aquatic Facility Community Advisory Committee, encouraged council to get the ball rolling when it comes to the facility, saying it is the mandate of a municipality to have a high-level indoor aquatic facility, and Regina is currently falling behind.

The motion to approve the new estimated cost of $285.1 million was passed by a vote of eight to one, with only Coun. Bezo voting against.

The decision still requires final council approval next week.