Saskatoon mayor requests $75,000 in renovations ahead of fall election

Saskatoon city council will debate whether to approve a request from outgoing Mayor Charlie Clark for $75,000 in renovations to increase security and functionality in the area around the mayor’s office at Wednesday’s Governance and Priorities Committee meeting.

No renovations will be made to the mayor’s office itself.

The last renovation around the mayor’s office took place in 2017, including new paint, carpeting, and other improvements.

Angela Gardiner, the city’s general manager of utilities and environment, said the money would come from a variety of sources if the request is approved.

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“There some portion of it is funded through the budget for the mayor’s office. As well, there’s other capital funds that are dedicated to building maintenance and workspace accommodations that only now have the funding available to move forward,” she said.

According to a city report, $15,000 of the Mayor’s office operating budget has not been spent, and there is also $40,000 in the city’s facilities corporate accommodations project budget, along with $20,000 in the civic building comprehensive maintenance reserve.

Gardiner said the renovations would take place before the civic election on November 13, and the work would likely be done between October and November when the area can be vacated with minimal disruption.

“We actually haven’t had any security breaches to date, but an opportunity to address or undertake some improvements was identified as part of the routine review and prioritization from a corporate security perspective,” Gardiner explained.

“This is one area that was identified actually almost a decade ago, and we haven’t had the opportunity or the funds to be able to move forward with it.”

Some of the renovations include replacing security cameras, adding card access to some areas, making mechanical adjustments to the HVAC system, taking down some walls, patching flooring, installing a moveable wall system, and lighting improvements.

“The new mayor and his or her staff can move in and they’ll have all the upgrades completed at that time,” said Gardiner.

If approved, the renovations are expected to take about a month to complete.