It's shocking to me that once again, renewal of our beloved Centennial Botanical Conservatory is being pushed back.
A 2008 analysis done for the City determined that replacement of the boiler would generate annual savings of $20,929 and pay for itself in 11.2 years. Replacement of the glazing with 10mm Lexan would save $82,514 in annual operating costs, and pay for itself in 5.9 years. So, in the 15 years since the City requested this analysis, but did not act, an unnecessary $1.5 million (in 2008 dollars) was spent to operate this facility.
This is just one example of necessary infrastructure work being delayed, that makes up the "infrastructure deficit" we hear about. That infrastructure gap is over $20 million, meaning our city is spending $20 million less annually than we should be just to maintain existing infrastructure, like our Conservatory, like our roads, and bridges.
Meanwhile, we commit money to new projects such as indoor turf, art gallery or winter tennis that, while nice perhaps, means existing infrastructure remains neglected. That costs taxpayers more in the long run, when bridges are unusable, or giant sinkholes open, and the cost to fix is far greater than what it would have been if the work was done when it should have been.
Perhaps Council will ask for that list of delayed infrastructure projects, and see how many times have various necessary renewal projects been moved forward to a future budget, so we can instead put money into another new project we can ill afford.
The cost of the Conservatory renewal planned for this year was partially funded by two government sources. Where was the balance coming from? Where funds allocated in the 2023 budget that will be held in reserve for 2024? How is it known that materials won't be available, even before tenders were put out? Perhaps that was investigated, and the re-opening instead of starting a project that couldn't be completed was a prudent move. Meanwhile, an additional $100,000 will be spent to operate the Conservatory, and the infrastructure gap continues to grow.
Council needs to ensure that Administration focuses on closing this infrastructure gap, as was directed by the previous Council. And that means putting a halt to funding new projects, while we maintain what we already have.
Patty Bates
