Maple Leaf Pool funding boost approved, taxi talks pushed back at council

Regina city council has unanimously voted in favour of an $880,000 funding boost to the Maple Leaf Pool rebuild.

The additional money is expected to come from the Recreation Infrastructure Program — a 0.5 per cent increase tacked onto the latest mill rate hike — and the gas tax.

“That’s why we have that money set aside,” Mayor Michael Fougere said after Wednesday’s meeting at City Hall. “This is what it is for.”

Two delegations — both with connections to the Heritage neighbourhood, the area in which Maple Leaf Pool is located — appeared before council, emphasizing the need for the pool to be built sooner than later.

“I have heard from some of these pool users over the past couple of weeks, since sharing the news of the pool’s delay and need for additional funding. They are frustrated and worried,” Shayna Stock, executive director of the Heritage Community Association, told councillors.

“Their concerns are not about losing an option for leisure this summer; they are coming from a place of real worry for the health and safety of their families and our neighbourhood, and also from a place of deep appreciation and excitement for this new facility.”

The design for the new Maple Leaf Pool was unveiled in October. The initial $4.5-million price tag was approved in the city’s 2020 budget two months later.

Since then, Fougere said the cost of the pool has increased.

“The design is exactly the same as it was in public consultation, there’s just a greater cost,” he said.

Taxi bylaw amendment talks postponed until the summer

After nearly two hours of debate Wednesday afternoon, council voted in favour of moving talks around the taxi bylaw amendments to its June meeting, so city administration can bring back a side-by-side comparison between the taxi and rideshare industries.

Moving the debate to the summertime also allows for councillors to take a look at the rideshare bylaw, which is up for review in June as well.

“Council agreed that we want to have the two bylaws together to look at how we can make it easier,” said Fougere. “It’s better to wait and get it done right, as opposed to not doing it right and having to come back again.”

Among the suggested amendments council would like to see axed in the taxi bylaw are requirements for the City of Regina to inspect the decals, cameras, vehicles and meters for licensed and certified taxi companies — as long as the appropriate documents are submitted to the city.

Refinery labour dispute discussion moved to March

Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Stevens tried to get the notice period waived on his motion regarding the Co-op refinery labour dispute on Wednesday.

However, it was defeated by one vote (council has to be unanimous in order for it to be waived) and the debate was pushed back to next month’s meeting.

In his notice of motion, Stevens is asking council to call upon the province to introduce binding arbitration legislation “to secure an equitable resolution to the dispute between the parties.”

A couple dozen Unifor members sat in the gallery in anticipation of the debate Wednesday, but slowly cleared out as the meeting went on when they discovered it would be deferred to March.