Regina committee asks staff to figure out how to pay for $85M bump to new aquatic centre budget

A cost-conscious Regina city council has decided it will stomach an $85-million increase to the projected budget for its new aquatic centre as it waits for more details on how it could potentially afford the project. 

With a municipal election just months away, Wednesday's executive committee meeting focused on trying to balance fiscal responsibility and building for the future.

A report to the city's executive committee highlights how the estimated price of the new indoor aquatics centre has ballooned to $245 million from $160.7 million.

Nearly $44 million of the increase is the result of inflation on construction costs, while $40.5 million is the result of design scope clarity, according to the report.

The decision in front of the city's executive committee on Wednesday was whether to approve the increased budget or reduce the scope of the facility.

"The worry, I think, is where does this end?" Ward 4 Coun. Lori Bresciani said.

Marj Walton, a representative for Swim Saskatchewan, said registration at the five swim clubs in the city has nearly tripled in the last 15 years, but the facilities in Regina have not kept up.

She said the aging Lawson pool — which is set to be replaced by the new aquatic facility — is not large enough to attract competitions.

Walton urged council to approve the increased budget and maintain the scope of the project.

"Do you want a facility that will just service us in 2028, or do you want a facility that will provide room for growth for the next 40 to 50 years?" Walton said.

The committee ultimately chose a third option: referring the topic back to city staff, who will come up options on how to finance the increase while giving time for Mayor Sandra Masters to court the federal and provincial governments for more money.

"I don't think anyone around this horseshoe doesn't know how difficult it is to raise taxes or to postpone projects, but the reality is that I don't want to borrow $150 million," said Masters. 

Staff will come back in October, at this council's final meeting before the municipal election this fall.

The effort to build a new facility dates back more than a decade. Masters made it a central part of her successful campaign for mayor in 2020.

The delay in a decision left some councillors unhappy about potentially leaving it to the next council. 

"I just think we have to be careful in Regina not to always settle for second best. When we reach for the stars, we do really well. When we dither, we just put our community behind," said Ward 2 Coun. Bob Hawkins.

Construction on the facility is meant to get underway next year on the land that used to house Taylor Field.

Staff told council that their best estimate is that every week of delay in construction could increase the cost of the project by $1 million.

How council got here

In March 2023, Regina city council voted to go ahead with construction of the new indoor aquatic centre.

At the time, the budget for the project was pegged at $160.7 million. Meanwhile, a budget for the geothermal facility that will be used to heat the aquatic centre was set at $28.5 million.

The federal, provincial and municipal governments announced a year later they would contribute a combined $128 million as part of Ottawa's Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP).

At the time, Mayor Sandra Masters said the cost of the project would likely go up and the city would likely take on debt for whatever additional money was needed.

"I suspect, given that it will be a 50-year asset, that we will take out debt in order to complete the project in its entirety," Masters said in March 2024.

Instead of the $81.5 million the city was projected to be responsible for at the time, the latest estimates put the city's required contribution at $165.9 million. That means the City of Regina would be responsible for more than the original cost estimate for the entire aquatic centre.

The geothermal heating facility is now considered a separate project and wasn't part of the discussion on Wednesday.  However, staff indicated that instead of a separate facility, the geothermal plant would be located within the footprint of the aquatic centre.

City staff have said they are hopeful the ICIP funding could be increased to account for inflation, but there's no guarantee of more money from the provincial or federal governments.

Lawson could remain open

During Wednesday's meeting, city administration revealed that they were wrong to believe the funding required the city to decommission the Lawson pool once the new facility was constructed.

They said the Lawson could hypothetically be kept open.

City staff told council that the facility only has a 5- to 10-year remaining life span, and it would cost $28 million to extend it another 15 to 20 years. They admitted the facility would still not meet modern standards or accessibility requirements after that investment.