City kicks in more for water slides’ repair; taxes to rise 2.3%

While the City subtracted items from the proposed budget, it also made additions, such as the extra $40,000 earmarked for the water slides’ repair. Unlike the previously committed $60,000, this additional funding is not guaranteed. The City will set it aside, pending the results of its efforts to secure external funding.

For Dionne it is more of a buffer, as the City’s goal is to continue to seek the $200,000 needed outside of its original $60,000 commitment.

Coun. Ted Zurakowski put the motion forward to raise the City’s potential commitment to the repairs. He said he is hopeful that the City can spend the next few weeks and months reaching out to community groups, which have shown their interest in contributing to the repair costs.

“However, if that doesn’t come to be, I would still like to ensure that those water [slides] are open,” he said.

The City needs $260,000 to fix the water slides. They were closed to the public during the 2014 season after a report identified safety issues with the fibreglass slides and the metal structure holding them up.

The Kinsmen Water Park secured $25,000 through the TSN/Kraft Celebration Tour, since it was a finalist in that contest earlier this year. The City now has to raise at least $135,000.

Community services director Jody Boulet said they will continue to pursue their external funding sources. The department has also filed grant applications. The water park has been entered in a contest run by Aviva Canada, which has a grand prize of $100,000.

“Certainly, anytime you’re fundraising for any initiatives, there’s been many in the city, there are challenges that come with it. So, we’re waiting [for] some of the responses, and still think they’re going to be favourable. However, we have to respect the time each of those organizations need to take in order to make a decision on our application.”

He said the City is “pursuing every single option” it can see that could provide funding assistance for the repairs. It is a combination of going to businesses, organizations, service clubs, as well as provincial and national funding applications.

Additionally, members of council directed administration to tender the repair work, in order to get a better idea of what the current pricing may be. Boulet explained that the City has been using the same budget figure of $260,000 for a year and a half, and over that time there is a potential for change.

When it comes to the new $40,000 set aside, Boulet is pleased to see there’s a priority being put on having the water slides return.

“I think we still need to have some discussion around how long we want to have that water park to serve the community. I think that’s an important piece of the pie too. Certainly, we’ll have a major investment to get them back in operation, but beyond that, we don’t want to not put the proper amount into them to maintain them moving forward either.”

This could mean the creation of a reserve fund to maintain the water slides. Boulet said he hopes in illustrating this for council there will be funds set aside if there are repairs needed, so they don’t have to go back to the fundraising approach in order to do this.

Zurakowski is looking towards the future as well. He sees reopening the slides next summer as a small part of the city’s water facilities.

“Getting the water slides open this summer is just a small part of our water use facilities in the city. It’s just one small part of the picture. Until we take a look at our water facilities as a whole in the city, at the Frank [J.] Dunn, at the Kinsmen Water Park, there’s no public swimming at Rivier [Academy], we need to take a look at having those water slides remain open. Until there is what comes next. Until there is a plan B.”

The community services department is promising an aquatics facilities report, which is expected to come to council in the new year.

Police budget increase reduced

The second day of budget committee meetings saw the Prince Albert Police Service lose about a quarter of the funding it had seemingly secured a day earlier.

The budget committee reduced the $495,180 increase to the police department’s budget by $150,000.

“I think relative to the flavour within other departments, that we reduced other departments’ asks. The police service, I think, also has to toe the line there, so I think that’s fair and equitable,” Coun. Lee Atkinson said. He had put the motion forward to lower the amount approved for the police in 2015.

The new amount will be sent back to the Board of Police Commissioners, which will determine what it will trim out of its budget.

Prior to the reduction, the police department’s request accounted for about 40 per cent of the original proposed budget increase.

Atkinson said he thinks there are opportunities for the police department to generate revenues or surpluses to exist. He also pointed to the money set aside for a new regional integrated traffic unit officer, a position that has yet to be approved.

“So I think that $150,000 out of a $14.[6] million budget is not much,” he said.

Other Day 2 highlights

The budget committee looked at external agencies, fleet reserve spending and capital projects on the second day of budget deliberations:

-The budget committee set aside in-kind support and $15,000 for Prince Albert Arts Board, pending council’s approval of a business plan. The Arts Board’s role has changed, now that it is no longer the caretaker of the E.A. Rawlinson Centre. The community services department is assuming responsibility for that facility.

-The City will add an additional $20,730 to the Mann Art Gallery’s grant to help cover 100 per cent of the gallery’s staffing costs. The Mann Art Gallery had asked for that amount to be added on to its grant each year over a period of three years. The budget committee only agreed to the addition for 2015.

-Administration will provide an update about projects that have not been completed, but have had money set aside for them in previous budgets. The departments will report back to council with reasons why these projects have not been completed, and if that project will be completed. Funds allocated to these projects end up in a reserve, but remain earmarked for that project. The money then stays put until council decides to use it for something else.

-The pathways in Kinsmen Park continue to be an issue, with administration admitting that drainage problems are significant in the park. A resolution could be more expensive, as the City would need to resolve the problem of water pooling on pathways before the paths could be repaved.

-The $4 million paving program will remain in place in 2015. This year, the City spent $3.9 million under the program, as well as an additional $678,000 from the land fund in the Crescent Acres area. In total, the City spent $4.7 million on the paving project. Next year, the City plans to do major roadwork along Second Avenue West, but that will involve more concrete than asphalt because of the high traffic volumes. About 30,000 vehicles use that road on long weekends, according to acting public works director Wes Hicks.

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tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames

by Thia James

City kicks in more for water slides’ repair; taxes to rise 2.3%

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