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There’s a scramble to save Regina’s Floral Conservatory from a potential funding cut.
The facility is on the chopping block as the City of Regina looks to trim down a projected 15.69 per cent hike to property taxes.
Read more:
- Froh says Regina must make ‘hard decisions’ as city forecasts 15.69% tax hike
- Calls to save Regina’s Floral Conservatory grow ahead of budget meetings
- Saskatchewan government says budget on course to record $427M deficit at year’s end
No decision has been made on the facility’s future yet, but Ward 3 Councillor David Froh said it would be “insanity” to cut funding for the conservatory during an interview on Monday.
Regina Floral Conservatory chair Jolene Norleen joined the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday. She said the board had a meeting on Monday night, and members are planning to go to council next month to explain the importance of the work they do.
Norleen said she’s grateful for the community support, and said more than 100 new members have signed up in the last few days alone, in order to support the conservatory.
Listen to the full interview with Norleen, or read the transcript below:
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
GREG MORGAN: How did the meeting go last night? What did you discuss?
JOLENE NORLEEN: The meeting went well. We’ve been working hard over the weekend and we are in the process of setting up a meeting to be at one of the council meetings, hopefully on December 3. We will be presenting some information to council, because some of them aren’t very familiar with the conservatory. We have been working hard at making the community aware. We just want to thank all the community members who have been showing their support to us by following us on Facebook and giving us stories about the impact of the conservatory on their family and friends.
How has it impacted some of the people who are reaching out to you?
NORLEEN: It’s a multi-generational impact. We have one gentleman who got engaged there. He got married there. He takes his family and friends there on a regular basis. We have a health-care professional who is using it and says she needs some mental health time during the winter months, so she goes there for just the relaxation and she says many of her clients also do the same thing. We have one story of a little boy who was nonverbal, and he went into the conservatory, and shortly after being in there, he began to speak, and the teacher told us that she had never heard him speak before.
How much funding would you be asking for in the next budget?
NORLEEN: We’re just asking the city to continue with their support as it is today. They provide us with $60,000 to $70,000 to cover the utilities and any maintenance to the existing building, because the city owns the building, as well as they also give us a $20,000 grant to go towards plants and the upkeep of the display.
I know in the past, you’ve been hoping that one day the conservatory would move to Wascana Park. There was a plan for that, but the pandemic kind of killed it. Is the intention to one day move locations?
NORLEEN: Yes, we are still in the planning stages for the new floral conservatory. We are working with the Provincial Capital Commission and SaskBuilds. Once we secure a location, we can get into a more major fundraiser.
Do you have a last message for anyone listening?
NORLEEN: We’ve had over 100 new members join us in the last couple of days, so that’s one way that you can show your support. If you want to come out to the meeting on December 3 for the city council, there will be more information posted on Facebook, so just look up the Regina Floral Conservatory or go to our website.
