Regina Public Library told no debt room for renewal project

The Regina Public Library said it was surprised to learn at budget time that the city’s credit card is maxed out and there’s no room for its Central renewal project.

The library’s board chair and other officials told council the RPL had already finished a request for qualifications, and was about to move to the next step – a request for proposals (RFP), when it learned the project was not on the approved capital projects list.

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Administration said the city simply does not have the capacity to borrow for the project and for needed upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.

Chair Marj Gavigan said developers were ready and waiting for the RFP, and now things have ground to a halt at a critical time.

“It’s end of life, really,” Gavigan told reporters, “And and we said four or five years ago, it doesn’t make sense to put a lot of money into a building that that just isn’t going to last – that hasn’t changed today. So is it efficient use of funds to put money into a library that really isn’t going to last with this?”

She told council without the renewal project going forward, options included expensive repairs, as well as the closure of the library and replacing it with a pickup point.

That would also mean no RPL Film Theatre or Dunlop Art Gallery, which are located in the existing Central branch.

Administration has been asked to report back with a number of items and options. However, it has said the library’s suggestion that it could borrow city funds for the project would not be legal.

Situation dates to decisions by previous council

Councillors were told that in July of 2024, the previous city council voted to approve borrowing the money needed for the renewal project, despite warnings about the debt limit and the future need for wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

That decision survived a reconsideration vote in October 2024.

Chief Financial Officer Daren Anderson, who began in his position with the city in early 2025, explained members of the new council were given a briefing note in August of 2025 that outlined concerns about the debt limit and the pending need for wastewater treatment plant work.

Ward 3 councillor, David Froh, suggested the new council had not been given the same level of information as the previous council.

“Was there an explicit recommendation from the administration advising against that debt or spelling out the opportunity cost or implications for other council-approved projects as it relates to our debt implications?” he asked.

“Frankly, I disagree fundamentally that administration has provided a fulsome picture to this council.”

Acting city manager Jim Nicol took issue with Froh’s comments.

Regina Public Schools trustee Ted Jaleta addresses city council Wednesday, March 11. (Geoff Smith/980 CJME)

“Mr. Anderson has made it very clear that there was a series of steps taken. Perfect? Perhaps not, but I can’t accept the fact you’re stating that you haven’t seen this,” Nicol said.

Ward 8 councillor, Shanon Zachidniak – one of only two holdovers from the previous council – said she didn’t recall the concern being flagged at the time of the original vote.

“That is a fair concern but that wasn’t provided to us at that time,” she said.

Ward 9’s Jason Mancinelli – the other member of the previous council to be reelected – provided additional context, explaining that in 2024, the city had not had an adjustment in its debt limit since 2014.

“We were aware of the library, the indoor aquatic facility and starting to have the first rumblings of a wastewater treatment plant problem,” he said. “Part of the instruction from the SMB (Saskatchewan Municipal Board) at the time was the fact that we had to keep our debt room more up to date, formalize our projects properly and apply for proper debt room with them.”

Mancinelli explained that the amount of debt room granted was less than applied for – an amount that would have accommodated both the aquatic facility and library renewal.

Zachidniak added she was one of the people behind the reconsideration motion because of her concern about the city’s ability to complete both of those projects.

Mayor Chad Bachynski, a member of the city’s library board, said lessons have been learned. He also believes alternatives to closing the central library can be found at the board level.

“There is reserves that they’ve built up, so I think there are some options when it comes to making sure we keep central library open,” Bachynski said.

Transit fare increase awaits third reading

People who want to know if they will be paying more for transit will have to wait two more weeks.

The bylaw needed to implement the 10 per cent fare hike approved during the budget did not receive unanimous consent for third reading.

The question has divided council, with second reading passing by a 6-5 vote. Councillors Flores, Froh, Radons, Turnbull, and Zachidniak voted against a third reading.

Bylaw debate included presentations by several delegations. Regina Public School Board trustee Ted Jaleta became emotional has he discussed the importance of affordable transit to students.

“I just challenge each of you, come and visit our schools,” he said. “This is not about transit. This is about children, their future.”

He said the school division provides transit tickets to students in need and the increase would result in a hike to the division of $4,000-$5,000, which would have to be diverted from other initiatives.

Council also heard concerns about a decrease in ridership which typically follows a fare increase. Following the last hike – brought in between 2015 and 2017 – Regina Transit saw a three per cent decrease in ridership, which it took until 2017 to recover from.

Bachynski reiterated to reporters that council did in fact approve the increase during the budget process. He added it’s a difficult decision for council members.

“We had a large mill rate increase,” he said. “We have parking fee increases. We have a transit increase facing us now. These are all increases to try and keep delivering the services that we heard very clearly people don’t want to cut.

“These are tough decisions to try and balance what we put on the mill rate for all to pay for and what we put on the user base to pay for.”

If third reading passes at the March 25 council meeting, the increases will take effect April 8.