Central plans at RPL Board July 25 – make your views known

RPL is moving ahead with plans to demolish Central and rebuild. Plans will be discussed at their July 25 Board meeting.  Draft agenda 0-Draft Agenda – posting 20230714 Go to the RPL website for the final agenda. https://www.reginalibrary.ca/about/leadership/board-meetings-2023

Requests for presentation to the July 25 Board meeting must be in by Tues. July 18 at 12 noon. https://reginalibrary.ca/about/leadership/presenting-to-the-board

Recent developments:

• On May 16, 2023, FRPL requested making a presentation to the May 23 RPL Board meeting. FRPL to RPL Board May 16, 2023 – final FRPL was not permitted to make a presentation, even though Central was on the agenda. Instead, FRPL just recently received a brief response from the RPL. 20230712 Response to FRPL
• The RPL Board voted on May 2, 2023 to move Central out of its current location soon, to protect against risks they said the building posed.  https://central.reginalibrary.ca/libraryboard-votes-to-relocate-central-library-services   (Link to media article) https://leaderpost.com/news/localnews/city-hall/regina-public-library-board-chair-appreciates-vote-of-confidence-from-city
• On June 7, the City of Regina Councillors voted to ask the Saskatchewan Municipal Board to increase Regina debt limit from $450 to $780 million. Excerpt of City Council minutes June 7, 2023 Minutes – City Council This would presumably fund the Library, and other Catalyst projects.
• The July 25 RPL Board meeting (see attached draft agenda) will discuss
  • Plans to move Central library functions out of its current location
  • Plans to “decommission the building”
  • Plans for proceeding with the demolition and rebuild project, under the guidance of Colliers Project Leader

Please express your views by:

• Sending in a letter, and a request for submission, to RPL Board by Tues. July 18 at 12 noon
• Sending letters or email or phoning the RPL Board and your City Councillors
• Attending the July 25 RPL Board meeting. to hear what the plans are for Central. This can be done in person, connecting by hone, or connecting through Microsoft Teams. You need to register in advance for connecting to Microsoft Teams, and also download the software. In-person: Central Library Boardroom
  Online: email librarydirectorsoffice@reginalibrary.ca for Microsoft Teams link
  Dial-in: 1 (647) 749-9317, meeting passcode 183 336 408#

Demolition of Central would have to be approved by

• Regina City Council
• Saskatchewan Heritage Properties Review Board (because Central is part of the Victoria Park Heritage Conservation District)
• What are the prospective timelines and/or deadlines?
• How does the RPL Board justify the destruction of a heritage building?

Concerns and possible questions from FRPL

• RPL Board interpretation and reporting to City Council of cost estimates inaccurate for upgrading the current building, resulting in claims that it is not possible to rehabilitate the building
• Maintaining the current building
• Preserving its heritage
• Specifics about including preservation of heritage in the requests for proposals to architects
• Costs of relocation (budget for the move, budget for the demolition and budget for new construction). Will there be financials in the statement of work documents?
• What are the plans and timeline for securing the money for any changes?
• Changes to current situation should not be approved until clear plans are in place.  We all know of the projects recently that have collapsed after the initial fanfare, think Centre Pointe and Namerind.  What contingencies are in place for unforeseen delays or overrun budgets?
• When will project management reports, such as those being discussed at the July 25, 2023 meeting, be available to the public? (project charter and the two statements of work)
• Colliers has been hired to project manage both the temporary relocation project and the rebuild.  What expertise and experience has Colliers got that give the public confidence about their competence, especially in new construction?
• Does the Library Board do this directly or through a subcommittee of the Board?
• How much is the City of Regina involved, such as a city project manager? What is the “chain of command” and where does the final accountability reside? Will there be opportunities for the public to review and comment on decisions throughout the process?
• What are the plans for public consultation?  Will there be regular opportunities for engagement and the ability to question plans?  Will a public design charette be used to engage and explore how this rebuild will fit with the public’s expertise and knowledge of building design and desired uses of libraries? How will the disability community and individuals or those with specialized needs be engaged throughout the process?
• Will this rebuild be a net-zero carbon building?  What opportunities will there be to capture or reduce the carbon footprint of this rebuild?  Will this be put into the request for proposals?