Is a new branch library in St. Albert, which was approved in the 2017 budget, a done deal? Maybe not.
Coun. Cam MacKay brought forward two motions at the Jan. 9 meeting that would require certain prerequisites be met before the city pays for land or construction of a new branch library.
The first would require the city to explore "all options for reserve land" to be a construction site. The second would require the city and library board to enter into a long-term grant funding agreement before allocating any money for land or construction.
Council unanimously voted to defer debate on both motions until Feb. 6 after Coun. Tim Osborne, who sits on the library board, has an opportunity to discuss the proposals with the board.
Council unanimously approved a new branch library in the 2017 capital budget during deliberations in November. Council subsequently approved the budget on Dec. 12, 2016.
Administration evaluated several potential sites, including city-owned land and additional parcels that were identified through an Expression of Interest process in 2016.
Council was briefed on options for a potential site for the branch library at the Oct. 3 meeting, but at that time rejected recommendations in a confidential administrative report.
With respect to the motion to explore reserve lands, MacKay said he understood there were some pieces of land that were not explored in that initial report, such as in the Badger Lands area north of Villeneuve Road.
Development services manager Gilles Prefontaine explained that previous council direction has been that municipal reserves for parkland would not be considered as options, and the Badger Lands option MacKay referred to wasn't considered as it wouldn't be serviced for another five or 10 years.
MacKay said it might cost $2 or $2.5 million to buy land for the project, and the money might better be spent on servicing land the city already owns. The cost could then be recovered through off-site levies.
"That's a very viable option we could do to avoid being on the hook for the cost of the land," he said. "There's a developer right adjacent to the Badger Lands who has talked to me and others on council about how they are interested in building a library on their site."
Funding agreement
MacKay's second motion, to require the library board to enter into a long-term grant funding agreement with the city, is based on his calculations of increases in the library grant between 2000 and 2015. He argued the amount the grant is increasing is unsustainable, a problem that would be exacerbated once a branch library is built.
He presented figures taken from the city's finance department showing the 2000 grant was $1.2 million, and that figure increased about 8.45 per cent annually until 2015, when the grant was $3.7 million.
MacKay added the projected $1.6 million annual operating cost of a new branch library to that figure, estimating a $5.8 million grant request in 2018. He observed that if the annual increases are 8.65 per cent, by 2025 the cost of operating the city's libraries would be in excess of $10 million.
"The service usage is increasing, but it's not increasing by eight and a half per cent per year," he said. "I have to question whether the dollars flowing there are appropriate."
He said he would want the library board to commit to a fixed percentage increase in the long term, in order for both the city and the library board to be able to do long-term planning without repeating the situation where the budget tripled in 15 years.
Library director Peter Bailey said that from his perspective, both MacKay's motions have essentially already been addressed.
He noted the administrative report explaining the land evaluation process and the report given to council.
"Council has all the information required to make a decision for a site on the library branch, which has been approved unanimously," he said.
Bailey also pointed to the library's budget process, which fits within the city's administrative budget process, and said council already has the opportunity to limit grant increases on a year-by-year basis. He said he knows of some libraries in the province that operate on three-year budget cycles. He said predicting needs long-term is difficult in uncertain economic conditions.
"There's so many variables, it's difficult to predict," he said. "Even one year down the road, it's hard to predict for a budget."
Landrex proposal?
Coun. Bob Russell suggested amending MacKay's first motion to include considering "the Landrex proposal" with an administrative report and recommendations, prior to allocating money for the library.
"If I recall, that was an in camera proposal," Mayor Nolan Crouse told him. "I believe this is the first time the proponent has been disclosed publicly."
Crouse rejected the amendment as it referred to a confidential matter. Russell instead brought forward a motion "that the developer proposal be submitted to council with administration comments and recommendations."
Prefontaine explained that in 2016, the city had put out a request for expressions of interest with respect to the library, and several proposals came in, most of them land based. He said he expected there would continue to be interest from developers as the city works through this project.
"We are always looking for anything that might be in the best interest of the community," he said. "If the right proposal came forward, which made sense for the city, we would bring it forward to council."
He added the Landrex proposal to which Russell referred was something that has not yet come before council.
"I just want to make sure we keep the door open as long as we can without delaying this process," Russell said.
Russell later told the Gazette he knows Landrex has made a proposal with respect to the branch library, but council has not yet had an opportunity to discuss it. He said he does not know if the proposal would be worthwhile or not, but the intent of his motion is to ensure that discussion happens before any final decisions are made.
Landrex president Jim Sheasgreen confirmed the company is looking to work with the city on the branch library project. Landrex provided a response in 2016 when the city was seeking expressions of interest for land for the new branch library. Sheasgreen said details of the proposal are confidential for the time being.
"We want to work in partnership with the city to secure the library on one of our sites, but that's the extent of what I'd like to comment on where we're at today," he said.
