Attempt to reverse the decision to renovate the library falls short: 620 CKRM

REGINA – An attempt to reverse an earlier council decision to finance the Central Library renewal project with debt has failed.

During a special meeting Tuesday at Regina City Hall, council voted 6-4 against a motion for reconsideration filed by four councilors — Terina Nelson, Lori Bresciani, Cheryl Stadnichuk and Shanon Zachidniak — regarding the previous 4-3 council decision on July 9 to commit between $92 million and $119 million in debt financing for the Central Library project.

In their Oct. 1 motion, the four council members sounded the alarm about that commitment, pointing to new information about cost projections for the Indoor Aquatics Facility project, which had risen more than $80 million over budget.

But the prospect of council reversing their decision drew a response of frustration from representatives of the Regina Public Library, who appeared before council Tuesday afternoon.

“It feels like we’ve been working on this for a long time. It feels like we came back to council with everything you asked for. We came back to the council with things you didn’t ask for. So yes, our level of frustration would be quite high,” said Marj Gavigan, board chair of the Regina Public Library, when asked by Mayor Sandra Masters what her response would be to a yes vote to reconsider.

Councilman Nelson, who made the motion for reconsideration, asked library officials what they had to say about the “frustration of taxpayers saying, ‘You eleven people sit in that room making decisions, the majority of you make over $50,000 a year , and you decide on the money spent that I cannot pay. ”

“I appreciate that there are taxpayers,” Gavigan responded, “but I can tell you that I’ve talked to taxpayers who are quite frustrated because 11 people sitting at this table who make over $50,000 a year can’t make a decision . And the fact that the years spent without money have gone into infrastructure is quite frustrating. That’s why we have to spend more now.”

“Well, I can tell you that the council members here have made a decision, we have all made a decision,” Nelson said. “Last time there were not eleven of us around the table, but seven.”

Ultimately, the four council members who favored the motion to reconsider had an uphill battle in their efforts to convince other council members to change their minds. Councilwoman Bresciani, who is running for mayor on a platform of fiscal responsibility, voiced her support for the reconsideration motion while expressing concern about the city taking on more debt for the project.

“The timing of this, I think, is unfortunately politically wrong,” Bresciani said. “I always want to leave the next council in a better place. That is my job as a councilor. I don’t think we will be. They will have to take this blame and the decisions we have made.”

Councilor Bob Hawkins had already introduced the motion to fund the library project in July and made it clear that he was against the motion for reconsideration and further delays to the project.

“We’ve been putting this off for 15 years,” Hawkins said. “The real question is why we didn’t start it five or ten years ago when it would have cost much less. Delay will bring uncertainty, and uncertainty is the last thing we need with this project.”

“I’m getting on my soapbox,” said Nelson, who questioned why the city was moving forward with these projects given the financial challenges it was facing.

“I’ll tell you folks – my neighborhood is super angry, angry that they’re going after some people’s wish projects and promise projects, and well, these are what-should-have-been projects done.”

Ultimately, only Nelson, Bresciani, Stadnichuk and Zachidniak were in favor of the reconsideration motion. Mayor Masters and five other council members voted against; Councilman Landon Mohl withdrew from the vote.

Speaking to reporters, Gavigan said the vote to reject the reconsideration motion “adds a lot of credibility to the library and the library project.”

“Our developers now know that the city is committed and will support us for that debt financing and so we can move forward in an RFP and get some of the solutions proposed by the developers. So that’s pretty important. I think it is very important for the residents of Regina and also for the property tax holders that the city has made a decision and is sticking to it. They can be assured that there will be a renovated central library.”