Regina Public Library not halting advocacy efforts despite council decision on debt commitment

Regina Public Library not halting advocacy efforts despite council's withdrawal of debt commitment for Central Library renewal. Donovan Maess reports.

The Regina Public Library (RPL) says the dream of the Central Library Renewal Project is still alive, despite the loss of city debt funding.

“Hold my beer; I’m not done yet, folks,” library board chair Marj Gavigan said bluntly after council’s decision Wednesday. “I’m not going away. Central library is not going away. Regina Public Library’s not going away. There are people who are committed to making sure we have accessible and relevant library services and programs in the city.”

“One way of doing that is renewing the central library,” she added.

In July 2024, councillors at the time committed up to $119 million of debt for the Central Library Renewal Project (CLRP).

Following a review of available debt room and with more than $1 billion in planned capital projects, city administration and this council were faced with the decision to pull the previous commitment.

Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski called the decision difficult.

“With the financial situation we’re in and our debt capacity. This is a good thing,” he said. “Our city is growing faster than anticipated and we’re seeing investment in our community. The unintended consequence is priorities of projects and we’re constantly reviewing that.”

The RPL board has been advocating for a new central library building for 17 years.

After receiving approval two summers ago, Gavigan said her team leapt in with both feet in the course of carrying out their vision.

The result? The loss of more than 18 months of work and about $2 million in investments.

“[We] have to go back to the developers who have been shortlisted through that [request for proposal] process to let them know we’re not moving forward on the same path,” said Gavigan. “Some consultants will shut down their work and then it means the board will get together with library administration to talk about the options that might be available to us.”

Gavigan did not mince words when asked if widespread turnover within the city was a part of the reason the library has been constantly given the runaround.

“There’s been [a] lot of transition in terms of council and transition in city administration as well,” she said. “There’s some governance work I think the city needs to work on as well in order to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

What now?

Library leadership says the current central library building is at end of life and cannot meet modern demands and standards.

Now they are left wondering how to extend its life until the project may move forward.

“We know we’re not building a new library,” Ward 10 Coun. Clark Bezo said. “So we’re going to focus on what it takes to repair the existing facility, correct? And how much capital is required?”

“The board will be discussing what path forward we take,” Gavigan responded. “There’s some steps we need to take to close off the existing process we’ve been under for the last 18 months.”

“I can’t tell you what that is right now,” she added.

Through the most recent city budget approval, council approved a 5.5 per cent dedicated mill rate for the next five years earmarked for the CLRP.

Bachynski hoped the model could continue to get approval to allow the RPL to build its savings so when the city funding is available, the project may go ahead quickly.

“We’re up against the obvious debt limit and, for the library, there’s limited financial levers they can pull,” the mayor said. “They do rely on the city to fund them … given our current situation and how we’ve been very transparent about our financial situation, our debt capacity, I think we’re in a position where we can say debt is probably the more risky path.”

“Given that, we want to make sure we’re addressing a lot of that core infrastructure,” Bachynski added.

Council reaffirms support

Despite pulling back its debt commitments, city councillors reaffirmed their support for the CLRP when it has the funds.

“Regina needs a strong central library. Today we have critical infrastructure needs that require a debt,” Ward 3 Coun. David Froh said. “We simply do not have a net debt capacity to move the central library renewal project as originally intended. The library has managed their funds carefully, and we appreciate them as a partner. We need to do the same and be a better partner to the library.”

“I understand how the library has been bouncing off the guardrails on this entire journey of vague commitments, various priorities, inflation, crumbling infrastructure, civic infrastructure requirements and lack of housing,” added Ward 4 Coun. Mark Burton. “It’s unfortunate we’ve arrived at this point in time, where I have to choose between wastewater supportive housing and libraries right now.”

The original debt financing was over a five-year period.

The city hopes the CLRP can be quickly engaged after current priority projects are completed.

“We have to deal with our water, and the library recognizes that too,” Ward 5 Coun. Sarah Turnbull said. “They need clarity to move on and find solutions.”

“We need to figure out a way to get quality of life projects over the finish line that we can afford,” Froh added. “We risk falling behind. Today we’re making a very reasonable but unfortunate decision.”

Gavigan hoped funding streams from other levels of government become available for the other projects the city has in the works, potentially opening the door and the funds for its renewal.

“Perhaps its applied to Central Library and we get some of that funding earlier than 2030,” she said.