A number of projects at LaSalle Landing are being delayed.
An information report was presented to council on Tuesday evening with an update on the progress of the overall full build-out of LaSalle Landing and the proposed future works and timing, given the current funding reduction.
During the 2026 budget deliberations, council voted to not allocate any additional funding to the reserves this year.
In previous years, council aimed to set aside $400,000 per year for the reserve fund. While a couple of years were just over $400,000, many of the budget years saw cuts to that reserve, with around $300,000 being allocated from 2021 to 2024.
The remaining projects at LaSalle Landing are seeing an average of a five year delay. The surface work of the Event Lawn has been postponed from 2028 to 2030, the outdoor pool replacement has been delayed from 2032 to 2039, a new playground, pavilion, and volleyball or tennis courts have been delayed from 2035 to 2041, the Event Centre Plaza delayed from 2036 to 2042, among others.
The town states they will continue to apply for grant funding from the provincial and federal governments.
LaSalle mayor Crystal Meloche says during budget talks, council reduced the amount of funding going into the reserve.
"And by doing that we've pushed back a lot of that development on the waterfront several years, but that's what we heard from a lot of our residents is that they didn't want to see the taxes increase... and so we had to find areas where we could save, and that was one area that council decided to push off for a year."
She says residents were asking what the next few years looked like at the waterfront.
"A lot of people are really excited for some of the development, some people want to see other things before... they want the Marina done before they see the trails, or they want to see the Event Lawn before the Benoit House. So this was a chance for us to lay it all out so everyone could see what the future of the project looks like, and what kind of timeframe we expect for each of those areas."
Meloche says the town continues to advocate for additional funding.
"It is disappointing seeing some of those delays. But we keep working and applying for grants, and hoping that the provincial or federal government will have something come along in the near future that would allow us to move some of those projects forward sooner than expected. And we're looking at other options too, other ideas for some of the property that we have down there."
To date, two debts have been issued for the LaSalle Landing project, one for $7-million for the land purchase and a second for $10-million for the completion of the Event Centre.
Council paid $9-million for the new loop offering ice skating during the colder months, and a concrete recreational trail for walking, jogging, and biking in the summer months, along with the summer water feature.
Approximately $3.5-million is in the current LaSalle Landing Reserve Fund.
The town originally planned on spending $25-million over 15 years, but have spent $30-million over seven years to build the Event Centre and the loop.