Catalyst committee to present final report to council for major projects

Members of Regina’s catalyst committee will showcase their latest findings to city council on Wednesday.

They will present a report to council regarding what a new aquatics centre, library, arena and non-vehicular pathway to join various districts of the downtown core could look like.

In the report that will be presented to council, it will list the priority for each project.

The pathway to connect the downtown core is at the top of the list, followed by the construction of a new aquatics centre, the construction of a new downtown central library, and arena.

The findings from the committee come after public consultations were held in October.

After data was compiled from the public consultations, 71.5 per cent of people who filled out a survey said they were in favour of a new $173-million aquatic centre. There were 79.2 per cent of respondents who pledged support for a new $125-million library, and 74.2 per cent of respondents voted in support of a $156-million downtown arena.

If the projects were to go through, the committee recommends the aquatics centre should be built at the current Lawson Aquatic Centre site and a new library would remain downtown, with preference given for it to be built on the existing location. A specific location for a new downtown arena wasn’t provided.

Nothing has been finalized when it comes to the status of the projects and all the projects will still have to be debated at council.

Funding also still needs to be secured as the city says it cannot fund all of the projects on its own.

If there’s one thing people in Regina could agree with, it’s that a lot of the existing facilities being used are outdated.

One of those outdated facilities is the Lawson.

Darrell Davis is from Regina and uses it five times a week. He says it’s time to build a new one.

“I think it would be really important,” Davis stated. “Currently, there’s a lot of clubs that use the aquatic centre. A lot of schools come in during swim time and I think with a new pool, they could probably consider utilizing the time more effectively for public swims, club swims and school swims. It gets a bit overcrowded at times.”

He said he’s also not just for a new aquatics centre, but also a new library and arena.

“I think it’s money well spent,” Davis added. “I think it’s a good use of tax dollars.”

Terry Kuyek also is a regular user of the Lawson. While he’s supportive of a new aquatics centre, he doesn’t want to see city officials get rid of it.

“As long as they don’t shut this one down, I don’t have an issue with it,” he said. “I think there’s still value in keeping this one here and adding another one on. From what I understand, the triathletes use it quite a bit and they could use another facility.”

Renata Sosna frequents the Lawson’s pool. She wants something that looks a lot nicer than the current aging facility.

“I find this is such a big cavernous space and I would love a little natural light coming in,” Sosna said. “It would make a world of a difference when it comes to swimming in there.”

She says she notices the facility does get busy, especially when there are kids in the pool.

“Sometimes it happens, especially for the children,” she continued. “I notice they’re packed like sardines in the pool. Looking at the amount of swimming classes, it would be amazing to have a little more breathing space.”

Sosna is also in favour of not just a new pool, but also the library and arena if it’s possible.

“An arena would be amazing. We won’t just have to go to Saskatoon or Winnipeg for major concerts,” she said. “In terms of the library, I really like the building, I really like the architecture of that building and I would like to see it being utilized with an add-on addition.”

She wants to keep the current library because she’s afraid a new library won’t look as appealing as the current one.

As for the cost, she says the projects will be up to the people and how badly they want them.

“I’m not sure if we can afford it, but I guess we’ll see what people really want,” she said. “Then we’ll have to prioritize, I guess.”

Of the projects currently listed, the only funding that has been secured is for the aquatics centre.