Council chambers was the location of the two open houses on Tuesday. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

capital plans

La Ronge set to borrow millions of dollars in coming years, dip into reserves

Dec 6, 2022 | 4:22 PM

Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars will be spent in La Ronge over the coming years on a multitude of projects.

Between 2023 to 2025, an estimated $10 million will spent on upgrading the Mel Hegland Uniplex with the municipality borrowing $5.9 million, fundraising $2.5 million, receiving $1.5 million in grants and contributing $100,000 from the reserve to make it happen.

Mayor Joe Hordyski explained financing the construction of a new recreation centre is just not possible at this time, so upgrades need to be done to keep it in safe condition for another 20 years.

“I don’t like spending that kind of money on the rink, I will be totally honest,” he said. “I think there are people around the table who feel the same way, however, weighing that against the cost of a new rink and what that would involve in terms of more borrowing and to address that debt, we would have much higher payments and there would be more pressure on the tax base to actually address those costs.”

A new recreation centre with an ice hockey and curling rink is estimated to cost $33 million. Although $10 million is budgeted for upgrades, Hordyski noted council will defer as much work as possible and keep an eye out for more grant money that could become available from federal and provincial governments. So far, $100,000 has been earmarked for a consultant to come up with design work and a list of priorities of what should be addressed first.

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Council has also decided to move ahead with the Highway 102 Economic Corridor Master Plan with $4 million set to be spent between 2023 and 2025. Of that total, $2 million will come from reserves, $1 million will be borrowed and another $1 million will come from land sales.

Completing the entire Highway 102 Economic Corridor Master Plan would cost $8 million. (Town of La Ronge)

“It’s time the community looked at economic development seriously and some of those costs are to do with the expansion of both the commercial and residential,” Hordyski said.

Another $2.5 million will be spent on downtown revitalization and $500,000 on residential lot development in the next two years. Funding for downtown revitalization will come out of reserves, while new residential lots will come from land sales.

With construction of an 80-bed long-term care facility expected to begin in the spring of 2023, the municipality will need to fundraise $1.5 million for equipment and furniture. Hordyski is hopeful northern corporations, businesses and individuals with assist with the cause.

“Those both require a fair bit of fundraising,” he said of the care facility and Mel Hegland Uniplex. “There’s a lot of resources that come out of the North, and particularly the long-term care benefits a large part of the North in terms of providing senior housing. I think it would be an important investment for them to consider.”

Hordyski is also hopeful government funding will come through to replace the town’s wastewater treatment plant. That’s expected to cost $15.8 million with $320,000 set to be spent on the plant’s replacement design and repairs. The town has applied for funding through the Northern Municipal Trust Account and, if successful, could only end up paying one-twelfth of the total cost.

Millions will be spent in 2023 at the La Ronge Airport as well. The vast majority of the bill is covered by either the Airport Capital Assistance Program or Capital Assistance Program. Some of the work includes $5.5 million for airport paving and $2.7 million for runway lighting and approach systems.

The La Ronge Airport was constructed in 1976 and is the third busiest in Saskatchewan.

“I’m very proud of what our administration has done to prepare for today,” Hordyski said.

“This is the first time I think we have had an open house for a budget. It’s been a long haul. When I first came on council two years ago, we had imported an administration and we have advanced. Now, we have a full management team in place, and they have done a great job and they continue to provide us with the information we need to make our decisions.”

More information about the town’s 2023 operating budget and 10-year capital plan can be found online here.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @saskjourno