Regina's mayor looks to make roads and pipes 'exciting' to get residents' buy-in on infrastructure projects
In a year-end interview with CBC, Mayor Chad Bachynski laid out his vision for the next 4 years
With a city council full of rookie politicians, Regina's new mayor is aware that he's in for a challenge.
Chad Bachynski admits that he's had to approach everything about leading a city of more 230,000 people with an "open mind."
He said he's still learning about the job, and working to forge relationships with the men and women bringing very different views to the horseshoe-shaped table at Regina city hall.
"We accept that we're not gonna agree on everything. What we did commit to is to explain our position, not to convince, necessarily, somebody to change their mind, but just to say, 'This is the why I feel this way' and come from a place of understanding," Bachynski said.
"I think that's going to serve us well."
In a year-end interview with CBC, Bachynski laid out how he plans to govern, his priorities and how he plans to do it all with a sense of optimism.
Dysfunction must end
Regina's previous city council was widely viewed as dysfunctional.
There were multiple code of conduct complaints filed against members, motions to introduce policies aimed at specific councillors, and meetings that lasted hours longer than necessary as frustrated politicians sparred with one another.
Bachynski said he wants the recently sworn-in council, which features eight rookie councillors and two veteran members, to avoid those pitfalls.
It's why the mechanical engineer and manager at SaskEnergy got into the mayoral race in the first place.
"There's some tactical things that I think everybody was frustrated with," Bachynski said.
Tough decisions ahead
Having lived in neighbourhoods across Regina, the 39-year-old said he felt occupying the top political seat in the city would allow him to have the biggest effect.
Even though Bachynski had no political experience before the campaign, beyond sitting on some boards and committees, he believes he's well suited to the job.
"I was the one that usually struck up a random conversation with people and now they're coming to me," he said.
"A lot of people wanted to connect and talk, but I enjoy that. So I guess it's just on a bigger scale now."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bachynski hosted video game nights for friends and co-workers so they did not feel isolated and alone.
Playing Mario Party and Mario Kart presented him with an opportunity to make sure everyone was OK, Bachynski said.
"You have to have a balance, right? Especially in this role, in this team, there's a lot of tough decisions. [There will be] tough days ahead, and its finding opportunities to have some fun occasions together. That's important," he said.
Bachynski said the tough decisions have already started.
During city council's first meeting, it approved $229 million in capital spending as part of an advance budget to allow the city to continue on projects into the new year before a complete budget is decided in March.
"I think everybody on council would say that that was a pretty, pretty big task to to understand what was in front of us," Bachynski said.
Infrastructure among the biggest challenges
Bachynski said the city's aging infrastructure is the toughest looming challenge.
According to a 2022 state of infrastructure report, the City of Regina's inventory of assets had a total replacement value of $12.9 billion as of 2020.
The report said $2.1 billion of the assets were assessed to be in poor to very poor condition. At that time, the gap between available funding and the money required to repair or replace assets over a 20-year period was $655 million.
That figure doesn't include the major capital projects that the city is building or plans to construct in the coming years, including a new aquatic centre, a central library or a replacement for the Brandt Centre. Preliminary estimates put those projects at $300 million, which would put the required funding at $955 million.
Masters tried to grapple with the issue during her term, pointing the finger at previous administrations and their desire to secure short-term political success through low taxes over long-term planning.
Bachynski said that although infrastructure is not a headline-grabbing topic, roads and pipes are important.
"I find [infrastructure] extremely exciting," Bachynski said.
Bachynski, who has a background in engineering, acknowledged that the infrastructure gap will require money, potentially in the form of taxes. He said communicating with residents is key to getting the necessary support.
"For me it's just telling the story in a way that people can understand," Bachynski said.
"What does that actually mean to residents for us to invest in that infrastructure? How does that play a part in our ability to provide the services that are expected, the ability for us to grow our city in a meaningful way and in a safe way."
When asked whether he plans to seek re-election, Bachynski said it's way too soon to for him to have an opinion.
"Right now I'm just focused on what's right in front of me," Bachynski said.
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