UNIVERSITY COUNCIL
PLANNING AND PRIORITIES COMMITTEE
FOR INFORMATION ONLY
PRESENTED BY:
John Rigby, Chair, Planning and Priorities Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
June 19, 2008
SUBJECT:
Report on Major Capital Projects
COUNCIL ACTION:
For information only
CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND:
The Major Projects Planning Process serves as a systematic and transparent approach to
review major capital and infrastructure projects in excess of $500,000 and major
equipment purchases, including major computer software acquisitions.
The planning process provides the Planning and Priorities Committee the opportunity to
review and provide advice, guidance, comments and observations on each project at two
stages: Stage 1 (project request), an early-stage outline of the rationale and scope of the
project, and Stage 3 (project brief), a detailed description of the project, including capital
and operating funding requirements and potential funding sources. Approval for the
project to proceed to Stage 4, Board of Governors consideration, is granted by PCIP at
Stage 3.
DISCUSSION SUMMARY:
Over the course of the year, the Planning and Priorities Committee reviewed the project
briefs for the following major capital projects and recommended they proceed to the next
stage of consideration:
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Dental Clinic Computer System Replace (College of Dentistry)
Perchloric Acid Fume Hood Abatement and Reconstruction (College of
Agriculture and Bioresources)
Place Riel Student Centre Expansion/Renovation (Place Riel)
Centennial Plaza Project (east of St. Andrew’s College)
Marquis Hall Renewal and Arts Food Services Outlet Upgrade (Marquis Hall/Arts
Building)
The Committee also reviewed the project brief for a Dairy Research Facility (site to be
determined), but deemed it premature for the proposal to proceed towards the next phase
of approval at this time and supported further development of the proposal in conjunction
with the development of the University’s 50-Year Master Land Use Plan.
A summary of the Major Projects Planning Process and status of each project is found on
the Facilities Planning section of the Integrated Planning web site at
www.usask.ca/vpacademic/integrated-Planning/planning_office/major_projects/facilities_plannning.php.
Clicking on the individual project name links to project specifics, such as overall
projected cost, project approval stage, executive sponsor(s), and visual representations.
A summary of the University’s deferred capital maintenance, estimated presently as a
$385.0 million backlog, was presented to the Planning and Priorities Committee in June.
Of this total, $200.0 million has been identified as critical, along a spectrum of risk.
Audit assessments are essential to determine the status of the University’s infrastructure
and plan for cyclical renewal, and are ongoing. Although the magnitude of deferred
maintenance is daunting in relation to the University’s annual minor capital allocation
from the Province, a number of creative initiatives are contemplated to address the
situation, including submitting a request for one-time funding to the Province, unlocking
energy savings, moving core activity off-campus, and instituting an infrastructure
reduction charge on new construction. Another approach has been to incorporate
planning for cyclical renewal within the budgets for major projects, such as the Academic
Health Sciences Complex and InterVac.
It is important to note the University’s situation regarding deferred maintenance is neither
significantly better nor worse in relation to other Canadian universities, and is shared
with other public sectors, such as Health. Continued assessment and updates of the
University’s capital needs, including deferred maintenance, will be an important issue for
the Planning and Priorities Committee throughout the coming year.