As of Nov. 25’s city council meeting, Whitehorse city council has given second reading to a budget amendment in the order of $9.3 million towards the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre.
The budget amendment increases the city’s capital budget by $9,319,000, funded through the Capital Reserve fund until federal funding is approved through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP).
The money is for upgrades to the recreation centre’s heating and ventilation.
When the amendment was introduced at Nov. 18’s standing committee meeting, finance director Svetlana Erikson said the upgrades for the McIntyre Recreation Centre were approved by the previous council in 2023, as an “appendix B” project. This essentially means that the project was approved pending confirmation of external funding – external funding which was not secured by the end of 2023 when the city was making its 2024 to 2027 capital expenditures program.
However, now that the city is “very close” to securing federal funding, staff are bringing the project back before council for consideration, said Erikson.
“However, we do not have the signed transfer agreement, so for that reason, we cannot be 100 per cent guarantee,” said Erikson at the Nov. 18 meeting.
Mayor Kirk Cameron said he felt uncomfortable about the worst-case scenario: the project not getting approved for federal funding, in which case the city would have to commit another $10 million out of its reserve fund.
Director Valerie Braga said that the funding had already been allocated from ICIP, a fund that closed.
Braga said it’s now just a matter of getting the transfer payment agreement signed off. In responding to a later question from Coun. Paolo Gallina, Braga said if the funds were to not materialize, they would not be spent.
“We have been assured that they will come and we'll be working closely with YG to make sure that we do receive it,” she said.
The old building desperately needs upgrades, according to city manager Jeff O’Farrell. “It's a city asset that's long overdue for some significant upgrading."
At Nov. 25’s council meeting, council also gave second reading to reduce the budget by $871,739. The money came from ten projects completed under budget, and an additional project cancelled outright.
The overall addition and reduction of the budget renders the city’s total revised capital expenditures to $130,287,782. It is important to note the $130 million accounts for multiple multi-year projects, and does not reflect the city’s annual capital spending within the 2024 fiscal year.
The amendments to the capital expenditure program go to third reading on Dec. 9’s council meeting.
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
