Regina council votes in favour of central library debt financing

By a razor-thin margin, Regina City Council voted in favor of approving debt financing for the new downtown library.

At a special meeting Tuesday, council voted 4-3 to commit between $92 million and $119 million in debt financing for the library project.

In doing so, council ended up going against administration’s earlier recommendation to wait until the fall for a more detailed recommendation that would also take into account debt financing needs of other capital projects, including the new indoor aquatics facility, the wastewater treatment expansion and the City’s overall debt financing capacity.

Council was more decisive in approving in principle a dedicated library mill rate increase of 5.5 per cent for five years, beginning in 2025, to accumulate funds in a reserve account until they can be used for the library project. That would amount to a 0.5 per cent increase in the overall mill rate, and was approved in a 6-1 vote.

Ward 2 Councillor Bob Hawkins made the motion to commit to the debt financing for the library. He said the city “deserves a new central modern library.”

“This is a defining moment for our council and for the future of the city,” said Hawkins. “This is a vote that we’ll all be remembered by.”

Joining Hawkins in voting yes on the debt financing motion were Councillors John Findura (Ward 5) and Jason Mancinelli (Ward 9) as well as Mayor Sandra Masters.

“We’ve been sitting on our hands for too long,” Findura said, expressing a desire to finally get on with the library project.

Councillors Terina Nelson (Ward 7), Lori Bresciani (Ward 4) and Cheryl Stadnichuk (Ward 1) voted against the debt financing motion. Nelson also voted against the library mill rate increase, voicing concern about the impact of a tax increase on residents.

“Our budgets don’t balance themselves, and money doesn’t come from thin air. It comes from taxpayers,” said Nelson.

Stadnichuk said she wasn’t comfortable approving it now, voicing her preference to wait until the third quarter for more information.

Bresciani had even stronger feelings on the issue, saying committing the debt financing at the meeting was “fiscally irresponsible.” Bresciani cited other urgent needs in the city, including water and sewer projects.

“I am not going to commit $92 (million) or $119 million without understanding the rest of the needs we’ve got,” said Bresciani, who said she would support the original recommendation to defer it to the third quarter.

“That, to me, is fiscally responsible,” Bresciani said.

Prior to the vote, council heard from eight delegations. But while all voiced their support for the Regina Public Library, several made known their preference for renovating the current library instead of building a replacement.

Carl Cherland, appearing by phone, voiced his support for renovation. He thought a new build would simply be too expensive.

“Complete demolishment and relocation? No, thank you,” said Cherland.

On the other side were the four representatives from Regina Public Library who spoke firmly in favor of moving ahead with the project. The library reps made their case for both the mill rate increase as well as debt financing, and maintained that they needed the commitment from council in order to proceed with the next steps, which include moving ahead with the request for qualifications and then the request for proposal process.

“Right now, they’ve been given some sense of stability,” said Masters about what the vote means for the library.

“I think the Library’s been waiting 15 years,” the mayor added.

“The future council can do whatever they want in peeling things back, but I think what this council is trying to say is we need you to proceed. It’s not getting younger. It’s not getting better. It’s underserving in terms of what it does, and there’s some risk associated with the condition of the building at the same time.”

As for what it is that the debt financing is going towards, Masters explained “what it is for is for a new Central Library branch, whatever that looks like. That could be as a tenant, it could be as a strata title of a tower, it could be standalone, it could be almost anything. But we’ll leave that to the folks that bid on these RFPs.”

Asked what her message is to residents after approving the increase to the library mill rate, Masters said the facility will act as a community hub, offering increased amenities to residents. She added that the project will also drive more visitors to Regina’s downtown.

“You can make the connection with where your tax dollars are going, and not into a black hole,” said Masters.