Alex Salloum
Regina Leader-Post
An additional $40 million to build Regina’s new Indoor Aquatic Facility (IAF) has been greenlit by the city’s mayor and council.
The IAF is meant to replace the aging Lawson Aquatic Centre and is now projected to cost $285.1 million, states a report presented at a city council meeting Wednesday.
The IAF’s original price tag was expected to be $160.7 million. However, citing inflation, administration announced in October 2024 that the budget had increased to $245.1 million.
Now it’s up another $40 million, which the city attributes to “global supply chain disruptions” as well as “market volatility.”
The new facility was a campaign promise by former mayor Sandra Masters, who served from 2020 to 2024. A common refrain heard from the majority of council on Wednesday was that the longer the city waits, the more the project will cost.
“Early fall is when we’re putting a shovel in the ground,” said Mayor Chad Bachynski after the meeting.
Council voted 9-2 in favour of the increase. Ward 2 Coun. George Tsiklis and Ward 10 Coun. Clark Bezo voted against.
‘I want it all’
A number of residents presented their stance at the meeting, from concerns over possibly having to defer the construction of pickleball courts and dog parks, to worries over pool maintenance.
Ward 4 Coun. Mark Burton summarized the tension with a reference to a Queen song.
“I want it all and I want it now,” Burton said, relating it to the variety of needs and wants of community members.
Regina resident Kelly Miller said the issue of replacing the Lawson has been going on for a decade and a half.
“We shouldn’t be back at this again. It should be done,” she argued, adding that the cost to build the facility “should have been half of this.”
Now, administration will finance another $10 million through city debt and pull $30 million from the five-year recreation capital plan.
Doing so, the report advises, could mean shelving several other projects until at least 2030. That includes: two new dog parks ($1.2 million) and eight new pickleball courts ($1.4 million), turf replacement on city-owned fields ($5.6 million) and rebuild plans for other outdoor pools ($21.7 million).
The additional city debt would translate to another $6.84 per year in taxes for the average Regina homeowner.
Despite federal support, the city will be on the hook for $156 million in debt and $49.9 million in annual capital funding. The federal government and the province are set to provide $43.2 million and $36 million, respectively, through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
Pickleball passion
Randy Dove of Pickleball Regina Inc. opposed the idea of deferring new courts as he touted the sport’s growing prominence in Regina and around the world.
“We need a minimum of 20 high-quality courts,” Dove argued.
Ward 3 Coun. David Froh said there are many strains on other recreational needs, noting there will be other opportunities for pickleball to receive funding.
But Dove asked council to “consider the value of pickleball as a lifelong sport that’s growing in the community” and said he is not asking for one to be prioritized over the other. “Our club has no issues with the aquatics centre.”
Councillor questions research
Ward 1 Coun. Dan Rashovich again offered skepticism over the geothermal heating component of the IAF.
“I believe it creates a lot of risk,” he said.
City administration said a full feasibility study was done on the prospect of including geothermal within the IAF. It would result in a $4.6-million savings over 50 years compared to natural gas, the city said.
Rashovich took issue with those estimates. He challenged councillors to “do some research” and claimed the city was “doing an experiment with tax dollars.” He proposed an amendment — similar to one he put forward at a past executive committee meeting — to cancel the project’s geothermal component.
In response, Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak cited extensive testing done by the University of Regina since 1979 at the school’s geothermal well.
”We do have testing,” said Zachidniak, who also noted that this aspect of the project creates an opportunity to study further applications for geothermal heating in the city.
Added Ward 7 Coun. Shobna Radons: “I cannot continue to rehash decisions that have already been made.”
Ward 9 Coun. Jason Mancinelli asked if it’s likely “that anything remains the same price for 50 years?” Administration said no, to which Mancinelli said geothermal was “a gift horse” that will not be subject to market elasticity like natural gas.
The amendment was defeated, with Rashovich and Bezo supplying the only two “yes” votes. Tsiklis sought to table the motion for a later time but was unsuccessful.
— with files from Larissa Kurz
