Regina catalyst committee releases survey results gauging community interest in 5 building projects
CBC
Regina city council's catalyst committee has released the results of a recent online survey designed to gauge community interest in five potential recreation and cultural facility projects.
About 4,500 people completed the survey. The committee also conducted five days of public hearings about the projects, with 800 people attending
"Ultimately, [the surveys] will be critical elements of the final decision making," said Tim Reid, committee co-chair and president of REAL District, the largest interconnected event complex in Canada, at a press event on Thursday.
The proposed projects are:
Of the five projects, the aquatic centre and the central library were the top priorities for the majority of those surveyed.
However, a running theme in the results was that most people would not support the projects if they were funded solely by public investment.
"I think there's sensitivity about … [whether this] is this the right time to be talking about large investments. There's sensitivity on the economy, there's uncertainty around investment, there's tax uncertainty," Reid said. "I think we heard very clearly that we need to be very planned on the timing of this."
The proposal to replace the Lawson Aquatic Centre with a new 265,000 square foot facility would cost of $173-million. Should the project move forward, 53 per cent of those surveyed said it should be paid for by funds from the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government, private investment and community fundraising. The majority (41 per cent) said that if the project goes ahead, it should proceed within the next five years.
The recommendation by the board of the Regina Public Library to replace the current central library with a new 150,000 square-foot facility would cost approximately $125-million. Support for public investment in this project could scarcely be more evenly divided: 28 per cent strongly agree, 29 per cent somewhat agree while 26 per cent disagree.
If the library project moves forward, the majority of those surveyed said it should be paid for by a combination of funding from the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government, private investment and community fundraising. The majority (36 per cent) said that if approved, the project should proceed within the next five years.
The proposal to replace the Brandt Centre with a new 380,000 square foot multi-purpose event centre would cost $120-million.A large majority (47 per cent) of those surveyed didn't see this project as a priority. However, if it does go forward, the majority said it shouldn't proceed for at least 10 years.
The multi-purpose outdoor baseball centre garnered the same reaction. More than half of those surveyed said that the $15-million project is not a priority. The outdoor field project, which has a $10-million price tag, got the same response.
However, Coun. Bob Hawkins, co-chair of the catalyst committee, says he believes interest in the projects is strong.
"When you divide it up between five projects … you're not going to see anybody with 100 per cent interest," he said.
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