City to explore new options for Little Prince storage

The topic of a new shelter for the Little Prince came back to the Prince George City Council table at last night’s (Wednesday) meeting.

According to a staff report, Council approved a capital project to replace the Little Prince Train Shelter in January 2020, but was deferred due to impacts of the pandemic.

The report states the current storage space leaks and is undersized, making storage and maintenance a challenge.

In 2011, Exploration Place took on operation of the train through a service agreement with the City and the Fort George Railway Society. The service agreement has been renewed annually since.

According to the staff report, Exploration Place has indicated they will only commit to a long-term agreement if the City will commit to a new structure that will allow for improved conditions for required maintenance and dry storage.

It also states City Administration does not want to commit the costs of construction unless there is a long-term agreement in place to operate the train.

Council was presented with three options, putting the new structure into the 2026 Capital Plan as a funded project, putting into the Capital Plan as an unfunded project, or to not include it in the 2026 Capital Plan at all.

Councillor Cori Ramsay put the second option of putting it into the Capital Plan as an unfunded project on the floor.

“I think reasonably, there’s potentially the opportunity to apply for grants to fund this,” she said.

“I don’t want to fully move away from dropping it totally off the Capital Plan, I think reasonably, it would be more prudent of Council to look for some grant opportunities before funding it.”

Councillor Garth Frizzell said this has been a conversation for five years.

“We’ve talked about naming rights, we’ve talked about getting CN, we’ve talked about grants from other organizations, we should continue to pursue,” he said.

“If we have to go with [option] two, that’s fine because Council can also move this to funded, but I think what this leaves us with is kicking this down the road a little bit into January when we absolutely have to make a choice.”

Councillor Brian Skakun said the project needs to be put into the Capital Plan as funded.

“We can’t keep going, because the costs are going to go up and up,” he said.

Based on designs approved by Council in 2020, the structure is estimated to require a capital investment in the range of $1.25 million.

Director of Civic Operations Blake McIntosh said that price is based on inflation and a number of other unknowns.

“We’ve been working with the schematic that was approved by Council in 2020,” he explained.

“Perhaps we could go back and look at a functional building that is not in the same dollar figure that would work for Exploration Place, providing the safe work conditions and the necessary regulatory work requirements to house the train.”

He added it’s a function of time, and trying to pursue that option in time for 2026 budget discussions would be difficult.

“There may be some alternatives to come back with a lower price option, and that work could be done, whether it’s for the 2026 Capital Plan, or if it can’t be done then Council can make the decision to move forward in 2026 or wait for 2027,” said Councillor Tim Bennett.

“I would be perfectly okay if the answer come budget is “we have not had time to look at an alternative, and therefore this is the option that’s in front of you,” but I also want to give the staff the ability, if we have time, to come back with a lower cost alternative, that is more palatable to me.”

Council ultimately voted to approve the facility as an unfunded project in the 2026 Capital Plan, meaning it will be weighed against other projects in the plan before Council makes a decision.

Additionally, Council directed Administration to explore alternative options, as well as referring the issue to the City’s Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs to engage in advocacy with the federal government, in particular, the Department of Canadian Heritage.