A day after the Regina mayoral debate, candidate Jerry Flegel has announced his vision for what he hopes to create on the vacant lot where Taylor Field once stood.
Standing on the cracked pavement with the sun shining down, Flegel shared on Tuesday morning that he looks to establish low-income housing and apartments, a grocery store and green space for families. He added there is also interest from developers he has spoken to about the project in building health care centres such as dentists.
Flegel said this is where he plans to start renewing Regina if he is elected mayor.
“North Central is having some issues with low-income and sub-standard housing,” explained Flegel. “By starting to clean up this seven and a half acres, with about a two to three-acre development to start, is going to change that.”
The grocery store element is important to Flegel since he said the closest grocery stores to the neighbourhood are about five kilometres away. There is another grocery location south to residents in that area, but he said people have to cross the railway tracks to get to it, which Flegel said they want to discourage for safety reasons.
He added that development is not shovel ready, but it would be the first item to complete on his agenda. Flegel mentioned he has reached out to companies in Saskatoon and Winnipeg about different designs that could work for development on this piece of land.
Taylor Field once stood on this site before it was completely demolished on Oct. 27, 2017. (Photo: Moises Canales/620 CKRM)
Tax rebate in 2021
Flegel had a second announcement on Tuesday that he thinks will help those affected by COVID-19. That’s by offering a five per cent rebate for “all citizens and all businesses”.
He explained that the rebate will go against 2021 taxes and will be supported by the city’s rainy day fund.
Flegel said this is about giving citizens some type of tax relief during a difficult time.
“Somebody said to me ‘it’s not raining, it’s pouring and we’re in trouble’”, he shared. “We’re having businesses close, families are in distress, seniors I have talked to in my area are saying they need help.”
“Seniors, families, low-income and the business community are all in there. Everyone will have an opportunity to send in an application.”
Flegel said nobody will be denied, however he noted there will need to be a system to monitor applications to make sure it’s looked after probably and people aren’t taking advantage of the rebate.
“I don’t know everybody’s books. For me to sit there to pick and choose, I don’t think that’s right when everybody in the city that has paid taxes has contributed to this,” added Flegel. “It’s time for the rainy day fund to be implemented.”
Election day in Regina is on November 9. Advance polls are open at a few locations in the city on Tuesday and Wednesday.