Regina council motion seeking increased consultation on CNIB/Brandt project 'superfluous,' says mayor

The City of Regina passed a motion Thursday asking the provincial government for a detailed public consultation plan on the CNIB and Brandt project in Wascana Park, but the mayor says the motion is unnecessary.

The provincial government owns the land the CNIB project would be built on. CNIB has the lease and has partnered with Brandt Developments on the project.

The motion was raised in February by Councillors Bob Hawkins and Andrew Stevens.

It askedcouncil to recommend that the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC),which runs Wascana Centre, publish a "detailed public consultation plan." It also called for a public consultation process for the complete building, including both the CNIB portion and the other portions of the building, in a "timely fashion."

The councillorswant the PCC Board to be able to review the consultation results as part of its decision-making process.

The motion to council passed in a close six to four vote.

Mayor Michael Fougere saidhe did not think the motion was needed.

"The (PCC) is doing now exactly what the motion says. To me the motion was superfluous. It wasn't necessary but council in its wisdom says they want to put it forward and they have done that."

Fougere said council wanted to "send a statement" and show that it is engaged in the process.

A second motion, which called for PCC CEO Monique Goffinet Miller to appear before council to answer questions, also passed. Fougere said that will happen at the end of the month.

The PCC is controlled by a five-person board, with three of those members appointed by the province.

In 2017, the provincial government reconfigured the board to have the three members from the province, with one each for the city and the University of Regina. The city and the provincial NDP have asked the province to return to the previous model, under which the province did not hold a majority.

In December, the provincialauditor found the PCC had failed to document how the CNIB/Brandt project conforms to park rules. She also found the PCC's public consultation process was inadequate.

Hawkins called the auditor's report "absolutely devastating."

In December, thePCC said the proposed building can once again start moving through the approval process. The PCCalso did not require public consultation on the proposed tenants in the building.

CNIB and clients speak up for project

The city heard from three people in support of the CNIB/Brandt project on Thursday, including two clients of the CNIB.

Rob Filleu said he was a "broken man" when he lost his eyesight 30 years ago and the CNIB helped him "put all the pieces back together."

"Should they be in the park? Yes. They've been in that part of that park for generations. I know how to get there independently. My 2020 vision is to see CNIB in the park," Filleu said.

Bob Huber said the CNIB "changed my life for the better."

"There are thousands and thousands of acres of park, can we not have a postage stamp size lot on the edge of the park?"

CNIB executive director Christall Beaudrysaid the organization spent six years looking for solutions for its aging building.

"We continue to work to meet every obligation we have to the Government of Saskatchewan, through the direction of the Provincial Capital Commission."

She said theCNIB does not think the City of Regina needed a motion to require consultation.

Beaudry said the CNIB's fundraising process identified Brandt Developments as a potential partner but was advised by the government to make a broad call for proposals.

"We were fortunate that after seven expressions of interest, Brandt's proposal came through. There was absolutely no influence on our provincial advisory board nor our national board to accept the Brandt proposal and we were happy to announce our partnership."

Beaudry said the project does not as of yet have a set of tenants and will follow the five pillars of the Wascana Master Plan - recreation, government, culture, environment and education.

"We intend to conform to the government's parameters. We will propose our plan to the commission very soon and when it's approved we will share it," Beaudry said.

She said the CNIB'swebsite has updates on the project and that there will be two public consultations, "building on the one we held in August 2016."

Final decision on project not made

The four-storey, 77,000-square-foot building proposed to replace the former CNIB headquarters in Regina's Wascana Park was halted in March 2019 following criticism thatBrandt was planning to rent to tenants that appeared to be disallowed under the park's rules.

In February2020 on its website, CNIBinthepark.ca, the organization said tenants in the building could include "government, medical, research, educational and charitable organizations, as well as general office uses and supporting services."

In an interview in February with CBC, Beaudry said at thattime restaurants and retailstores were also possible. She also said CNIBwouldn't be holding any public consultations about the project because "consultation was completed" years ago.

She made the comments on the same day the PCCannounced CNIB and Brandt Developments wereallowed to proceed through the approval process.

Brandt's realtor hadbeen publicly saying the building could house a wide range of tenants.

Alisting on the websiteof the commercial real estate company Colliersidentifies"potential uses (but not limited to)" such as:

• Government offices.
• Education use.
• Medical lab/ vision care professionals.
• Professional office.
• Recreation clubs/physio.
• Non-profit organizations.

The entire detailed design plan needs to bereviewed by the Wascana Park Architectural Advisory Committee.

The government has said once the committee has done its review, the final decision will be up the PCCboard.