The city is setting aside $130,000 to replace the seasonal greenhouse at the Centennial Botanical Conservatory, and preparing for more investments in the new year.
Monday night, City Council approved the greenhouse replacement, using up the remainder of the hotel tax fund from 2018.
They also agreed to get the ball rolling to replace the two greenhouses where plants are grown and asked for options on an overhaul of the main Conservatory building. The funding for those projects will be debated in the 2021 budget. That work adds up to $5-million in total.
City staff explained to Councillors that replacing the cold-frame greenhouse is the high priority of the list. Director of Asset Management Gerry Broere points out staff aren’t allowed to enter when snow is on the roof, out of concern for their safety.
Manager of Parks and Open Spaces Cory Halvorsen notes the city needs to secure more funding before they can go ahead with the production greenhouse work and the upgrades on the Conservatory itself.
Councillor Mark Bentz wasn’t keen on setting the city up for such a large investment outside of the budget process.
“So we’re looking at a $5-million project, and [spending] $130,000 draining the [Municipal Accommodation Tax]. We may choose to do that in budget, but I don’t want to do it in isolation tonight,” Bentz says. He went on to vote in favour of the motion.
At-Large Councillor Rebecca Johnson says residents need to know that this investment sets the stage for the rest of the work.
“We really are, for all intents and purposes, agreeing to proceed to repair, fix up, progress forward with the Conservatory. Whether it’s the greenhouses, whether it’s the Conservatory itself, et cetera. We’re on a path now,” Johnson says.
The upgrades for the Conservatory and new production greenhouses are expected to save $80,000 each year in energy costs.
Halvorsen says the new cold-frame greenhouse will have a bigger footprint and allow the Conservatory to produce more plants for city parks. It’s used to prepare flowers to be planted in city parks and gardens after they’re grown in the production greenhouses.
