'Really disappointing': Saskatoon councillors approve $30 million scaled-back Harry Bailey renovations

Some city councillors were reluctant to move forward with costly renovations at the Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre.

During Wednesday's regular business meeting at city hall, councillors unanimously approved nearly $30 million in renovations to the aging facility built in 1976, but a few councillors weren't pleased with the bill and ultimate scope of the work.

"This facility has been deeply missed in the time that it's been closed by residents who previously used it and rely on nearby recreation facilities," Ward 2 Coun. Hilary Gough said. "And, I think the scope of work change here is really disappointing."

The pool was original closed last March for a series of renovations that were supposed to take 18 to 24 months. The original price tag was $13.4 million, with $10 million coming from the Government of Canada’s Green and Inclusive Community Building program.

After the pool closed, tenders for construction came back in "more than twice the available construction budget," according to a city report.

It took one year to finalize a new tender for construction in March 2024, which exceeded the available budget by $5,950,000, but administration felt the package was "the lowest price in Saskatoon’s current market conditions to achieve the minimum scope of work required” to keep the already-approved federal funding, according to the report.

This additional ask of council pushes the project costs to $29,982,700.

"I actually don't think the scope of work that was originally envisioned or that is laid out here was even fully understood by (community services)," Gough said.

Even with the additional money, administration was forced to make a series of reductions to the overall scope of the project.

Expansions on the southwest and southeast sections of the building were cancelled, which removes a new multipurpose room, an enlarged fitness facility.

The entire pool and diving towers were supposed to be demolished and rebuilt, instead the tower will remain untouched and the pool and deck will be patched and retiled.

The new pool mechanical and HVAC system originally envisioned was scrapped to instead make improvements on the existing water treatment systems with modest upgrades.

Other repairs on the ceiling and roof were reduced. Improvements to the change rooms and washrooms will proceed with minimal changes.

"We need to maintain this facility and I look forward to the day when it's actually reopened," Ward 1 Coun. Darren Hill said.

Construction is now set to begin on July 1.

Administration put forward a plan to fund the project using money from a variety of funds and reserves. Administrators recommend allocating $2.97 million from the major capital funding Plan previously approved by city council.

Because of the funding transfers, planned renovations at Fire Hall No. 6 will need to be re-evaluated.

"We would certainly much rather be building a larger facility for less money, or at the full scope of what was there. This isn't ideal to have to scale back and also find more money," Mayor Charlie Clark said. "It certainly shows the challenges of inflation and how they're hitting our city in a real way."

Harry Bailey is expected to re-open to the public in late spring 2026.