City Hall is getting a makeover, and a new cafeteria is on the list of renovations.
“We do have many people that work in the tower of City Hall and they have no place to go for lunch,” Mayor Michael Fougere said.
Todd MacKay, Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s prairie director, disagreed with that statement.
“I’m not sure if there’s any spot in all of Saskatchewan that has more easy access within walking distance to, like a million different restaurants,” MacKay said.
The cost of renovations is about $4 million, including much-needed upgrades to sewer lines and ventilation.
The cafeteria is about 5,200 square feet, including seating for 150 people that can also be used for public engagement sessions and town hall meetings.
The old cafeteria closed in April 2013 as part of building security enhancements. The city said there was a commitment to reopen it, and the money had already been allocated in the 2012 budget.
“I don’t care when it was allocated. I don’t care what budget it went into, that was taxpayers’ money,” MacKay said. “And when you’re reaching deeper into taxpayer’s pockets to take more taxes, that argument rings very, very hollow. They should be defending every dollar to the utmost, regardless of when they stamped it in terms of budgeting.”
The city will lease the food and beverage service to an external operator through a public procurement process. In the past, this created about $25,000 in revenue for the city each year.