City council to decide on COVID infrastructure funding at Tuesday meeting

Regina’s city council is set to make some decisions Tuesday on a big pot of money from the province.

Council had to defer several items on the agenda from last week as the meeting went long. The meeting Tuesday is to start at 1:30 p.m.

Those decisions include which projects to include in the city’s application for the Municipal Economic Enhancement Program (MEEP).

The program was introduced by the provincial government to dole out infrastructure money to municipalities to help stimulate the province’s economic recovery and “keep our municipalities strong during the current pandemic,” according to a recent news release.

The City of Regina’s chunk of the $150-million program is $30,916,844. The proposed projects include:

• Residential road renewal, $6.4 million;
• Wascana Pool renewal, $12.0 million;
• Outdoor rink, $700,000;
• Energy monitoring and optimization infrastructure, $720,000;
• Municipal justice building redevelopment, $7.5 million;
• Permanent pavement markings, $700,000;
• Pedestrian connectivity (Pasqua Street), $500,000;
• Expand bike lanes and pathways (Albert Street), $900,000; and,
• Roof replacement, $1.5 million.

The $6.4 million for residential road renewal is money that would be put back into that program after it was removed in April to help the city with the financial impacts of COVID-19.

The projects impacted were recommended not to continue in 2020 due to the pandemic, so the money will be there to make sure the projects are funded next year.

The next item on the list is $12 million for the already-approved Wascana Pool renewal. Using money from MEEP would mean the city wouldn’t have to use $1.5 million in service agreements money and take on another $10 million in debt.

The city report on the matter states that would save the city $4 million in interest over the life of the loan.

The other $12 million in projects are started to be consistent with the priorities of the official community plan and would “enhance the quality of life” in Regina.

There are two other possible plans for the use of the MEEP allocation, but the city administration is recommending council approve this plan and authorize the city manager to put the application in to the province.

Among the other matters on the agenda Tuesday include a recommendation to allow the city manager to waive fees for street use permits for food trucks and for restaurants to expand their outdoor seating.

There’s also a report coming to council recommending the city allow taxi companies to not use the traditional fee structure when booking fares through an approved app, which would help level the playing field between taxi companies and ride-sharing companies like Uber.

The report is set to be received and filed during this meeting; voting on the recommendation won’t happen until next month’s council meeting.