Recreation growth projects in the city, including plans to expand Servus Place, could be taken out of the city's wishlist for the future should council pass recommendations from one of its main committees.
On Monday, the community growth and infrastructure standing committee (CGISC) met to discuss whether certain projects are realistic for the city to keep on its books over the next decade. Currently, the cost for future capital projects totals $309 million spread over nine years, but only $71 million is expected to be available over this same time period, explained Diane McMordie, director of finance.
"While we're relatively confident in our share of (Municipal Sustainability Initiative) funding over the next three years, the grant funding we have used in our estimate in the years out is an estimate at best," McMordie said, noting the city can't properly assess financial risks until it has a better idea of provincial funding formulas. According to the province's current budget, municipalities will see a bump in MSI funding this year followed by a substantial drop for the following two years, equating to a 25-per-cent reduction in funding averaged over the three years.
Repair, maintenance and replacement (RMR) projects also take priority over new growth projects, and it's "very probable" the city will see new or increased RMR needs in the future, she said. Without continued tax increases to fund these capital projects, "this problem will continue to grow."
"The concept of removing stuff from the plan is that we'd no longer talk about it unless council brought it up again," McMordie said. "We also have the issue (that) two-thirds of our growth capital plan is unfunded every year and just kind of keeps getting pushed forward."
With this in mind, administration is recommending council remove seven capital project charters from growth plans, including a few major recreation projects at Servus Credit Union Place.
Administration recommended the city scrap plans to include an eight-lane, 25-metre pool at Servus for $23.3 million, a sixth sheet of ice at Servus for $23 million given the city's new community amenities site, and $6.3 million to expand the fitness centre at Servus.
Mayor Cathy Heron asked why the city would remove the fitness expansion at Servus given its priority in the past. Kerry Hilts, deputy chief administrative officer, said it's not so much that the project wouldn't happen, but that the project plan needed an update.
Other projects up for removal include a seven-year $791,000 subdivision entrance signage project, an eight-year $6-million project for city parking lot upgrades, $49,000 for lodging supplies for emergency centres and $82,300 for a storyboard project.
At the same time, a few additional projects including a $178,500 boat dock launch at Kingswood Park could be added to the city's growth list. Most of the cost is for environmental work, explained Manda Wilde, senior parks project manager. Other projects include $367,000 to replace the city's current computerized maintenance management system, $100,000 for a municipal area network expansion to extend the city's fibre optic network to service annexed lands, and costs associated with the construction of a recreational facility on Range Road 260 lands.
Costs for construction for a future recreation facility aren't exact but amounts were meant to act as placeholders for the future, with administration suggesting a facility might cost $138.9 million over nine years.
"Why do we need to put $140 million into our budget when we have no idea what we're building?" Heron asked.
McMordie said those initial estimates will be replaced with a realistic cost once the city decides what will go on the site over a number of years. Choosing to err on the higher end of the scale, McMordie said the estimate was based on costs per square foot for amentities, like the cost of a pool or an ice rink. But it is just meant as a placeholder to keep potential costs of a recreation centre on the city's radar.
"It's irrelevant, it's not real ... we are not committing $140 million to build a rec centre, and that's what it looks like. That's what I'm worried about more than anything. That's not what we're approving," Heron said.
McMordie said the city was open to adjusting those estimates in the future.
These recommendations will come forward to council at a future meeting.
