Regina council to review estimates for $976M five-year capital plan

Nearly $1 billion in capital spending over five years is being laid out for Regina City Council on Tuesday.

The latest budget information meeting is focusing on the 2027-31 five-year capital plan, with preliminary spending and funding estimates for the projects needed to maintain the current level of civic services.

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The total price tag is estimated at $976 million, with more than a quarter of the spending set to occur 2027.

The largest spending category is roadway infrastructure, which adds up to an estimated $229 million over five years, including $42.6 million in 2027.

The biggest item under roadways is the residential renewal program, at $43.5 million, followed by the downtown section of the Saskatchewan Drive corridor improvement, which isn’t scheduled for construction until 2030.

After roadways, the new indoor aquatics facility – including a geothermal feasibility study – has a price tag of $186 million, with $122 million slated for 2027.

Transit is next, at $126 million, mostly for bus replacements, followed by facilities, at $72 million, and the Regina Police Service, at $60 million. That includes $10 million for police facilities, funded by the facility asset management program.

But administration warns that the facility asset management program is underfunded, and the money going to police facilities will come at the expense of other projects, including renovations to the North West Leisure Centre.

Funding gap

Acting chief financial officer Jeff May told council the document is the current “best guess” of where money should be spent and how to pay for it.

A combination of operating funds, debt, grants, reserves, and development charges funds projects. May stressed that the debt portion is not new borrowing, but debt already committed to the indoor aquatic centre.

May sounded an alarm about a gap between needs and available funding.

“We’ve been pretty successful in 2027 of financing almost everything we thought we should do,” May said, pointing to a chart showing a three per cent gap for the first of the five years.

But over the full five years, the funding gap is 13 per cent. May says that understates the problem, because some projects have been pushed out of the five-year plan.

Unfunded projects include a master plan that could see the city yards on Albert Street replaced and relocated, expansion of the transit garages, and Ring Road widening.

The problem, according to May, is that the city has been diverting funds from capital programs like facility asset management.

“This is not unusual,” May said. “In my time at the city, this has been how we have done trade-offs in order to get individual projects that have a fixed start and end date above the funding line.”

Inflation is cited as another factor in the funding gap.

May explained that the projects in the forecast were prioritized based on input from city department staff, but added that they largely align with findings from pre-budget and citizen satisfaction surveys.

Floral Conservatory group making pitch for funding

A delegation from the Regina Floral Conservatory is asking for help paying for environmental studies needed for a new location being planned in Wascana Centre.

The group hopes to have the new conservatory open by late 2030, coinciding with Saskatchewan’s 125th anniversary. The current location, a former city greenhouse on Fourth Avenue, is in need of repair and replacement, according to the group.

The 2016 Wascana Centre Master Plan identified a location along Lakeshore Drive, and the organization has begun fundraising.

“Our next step is to complete the required environmental studies – a costly endeavour,” the delegation said in its submission. “Our request of Council would be to consider contributing funding to proceed with the studies.

“With this ask, the NFCC (New Floral Conservatory Committee) will also contribute financially.”

Representatives of the Regina Floral Conservatory said they’re ultimately hoping the city will contribute 20 per cent of the total cost, which they have budgeted at $48 million.

The province would also be asked for 20 per cent, with 50 per cent potentially coming from the federal government. Fundraising would cover the remaining 10 per cent.

For now, the group is looking to move forward with studies and design in 2027.

Ward 9 Coun. Jason Mancinelli warned the time frame, with a potential opening in late 2030, might be too ambitious considering the state of the city’s finances.

“I think I want to support this with all my heart,” Mancinelli said, “but I think if you talk to administration about the possibilities, knowing the kind of support this institution has with the city throughout its history and going forward, there might be a better way to address this without the pressure of your timeline.”

Ward 2 Coun. George Tsiklis asked representatives Ron Sharpe and Jolene Norleen how they would rank the proposal compared with other city projects, such as the aquatic facility.

“We are one hailstorm away from losing the roof,” they replied, referring to the state of the current conservatory. Council was also told a windstorm forced a short-term closure last year, while rainfall this year caused flooding in the building.

No budget decisions will be made by city council until deliberations begin in December.