Regina Council votes to replace Maple Leaf Pool

The City of Regina has a spending plan in place for 2019 — and part of that plan is aimed at allowing residents of the Heritage neighbourhood to keep a pool.

Councillors voted unanimously on Tuesday to replace the aged Maple Leaf Pool, which the city is closing in 2019 because of its condition.

Ahead of the late-night vote on Tuesday, councillors heard from concerned parents, pool users and former lifeguards, who came to council on Monday and held a rally in support of the pool.

They say for many low-income and single-parent families, the pool — which offers free admission — is the only easily available outlet for outdoor recreation and swimming lessons.

Ward 2 Coun. Bob Hawkins said he has received many emails and phone calls from residents on this issue and put forward the motion to build a new pool.

"This isn't a moment for delay," he said. "This is a moment for courage, this is a moment to stand up."

Although council committed to rebuild the pool, details about when that will happen and how it would be paid for remain unclear.

Council heard there is almost $17 million earmarked in debt financing over the next few years to replace Wascana Pool with a new water park by 2021.

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said after Tuesday's meeting the decision to build a new pool in Heritage does not mean the end of a new water park in Wascana. It all depends on what city staff provide for options, he says. 

Community kids made a splash

Residents in the Heritage neighbourhood have been pushing for the pool to be rebuilt.

Lilla Fayant, 11, said she cried when she heard the pool was closing. She stood up with a megaphone at a rally on Saturday, saying the facility is important to her and other kids in the area.

She was pleasantly surprised when counsellors voted to upgrade the pool.

"I feel so happy just knowing that I get another pool," she told CBC Saskatchewan's Morning Edition.

Fayant's mother Stacey encouraged her daughter to voice her opinion publicly. 

Stacey said the kids who supported the cause found out that activism is worth the effort. 

"If you voice your opinion and you speak your mind and you're clear and you keep doing it, maybe you'll change people's minds, maybe you'll change the world for the better, and that's like an amazing lesson for an 11-year-old and for all the kids in the heritage community," Stacey said. 

How to pay for the new pool? Taxes? Debt?

At Fougere's request, council opted to give city staff some time to report back with funding options for building a new Maple Leaf Pool after doing some number crunching and speaking to community members.

Different councillors spoke against taking months to do any additional community consultations.

"Heritage came to talk to us," said Ward 5 Coun. John Findura.

Throughout the debate, Hawkins underlined the need the community feels to have a pool as soon as possible, and pushed for a new one to built in time to open for summer 2020.

City manager Chris Holden said design work could be done in 2019 with construction able to get underway 2020, but the city wouldn't be able to move any faster.

The decision to give the city until early next year to present a financing solution comes after Hawkins pitched paying for it through a three-year property tax increase, which other councillors opposed.

"We know we put .45 of the dedicated mill rate increase into a stadium for professional athletes. Surley, surely we can put .45 of the dedicated mill rate increase into a pool for our children who need it the most.."

$86 extra a year in property taxes

Property taxes were another major topic of debate Tuesday.

Councillors, who spent hours tweaking the budget, managed to decrease it only slightly from what was initially proposed.

Next year residents with a home assessed at $350,000 will be paying $86 more a year or $7.14 a month, down from the $93 per year the city initially put forward.

Council also inked some new spending requests into the 2019 budget based on what it heard from citizens.  

For example, council voted to reinstate a previously scrapped rebate for garbage collection for some condo owners.

It also approved introducing a temporary property tax exemption for owner-operated non-profit daycares for 2019 and 2020. Fougere said he reluctantly voted in favour of that measure, saying child care is provincial responsibility.

2019 budget highlights

In total, the city is proposing an operating budget of $461 million — an increase of $18 million from 2018.

Some of the highlights include:

• A 3 per cent utility rate increase for the next three years. In 2019 that would translate to an extra $4 a month
• $127 million toward capital infrastructure, which includes building and renewing roads, bridges and buildings.
• $92 million for Regina Police Services and $49 million for Fire and Protective Services
• $49 million proposed for roads to "maintain a safe, reliable traffic network," according to the city's website.
• $42 million dedicated to sport, culture and recreation. 

The proposed utility fund operating budget for 2019 is $139 million, an increase of $6.2 million from 2018.

The $127 million earmarked for capital infrastructure includes $7 million for a multi-year investment into the Regina police station, $1.5 million to improve Victoria Avenue between Albert Street and Broad Street and $1.5 million for designing a new outdoor water park with an additional $15 million in 2020 and 2021 for its construction.