Swift Current city council passed a motion Monday evening to construct an equipment storage facility that will cost nearly $1 million.

The facility will be housed on a vacant lot located at 1911 North Railway Street West and will contain two identical storage buildings with approximately 7,680 square feet each.

"This move is all about consolidating our operations into one common area, as well as saving the City some money," Mitch Minken, general manager of infrastructure and operations with the City of Swift Current said.

Currently the city rents three storage buildings costing $14,300 per month that house five transit buses, street sweeping equipment, and sanding equipment.

"The time has come for us to look at putting up our own building because the payback on removing those lease payments is very short," Minken explained. "As Councillor Ron Toles eluded to, it's in a three-to-four-year range for us to get the payback by removing those lease payments."

The project was originally approved for $650,000 in this year's capital budget, but after a more thorough look, the cost was pegged at $950,000, forcing council to approve of an extra $300,000 for the facility.

Council is anticipating the additional funds approved for the project to be recovered by the sale of the originally proposed lot at 158 5th Avenue Northwest.

Frontier Builders of Swift Current were awarded the bid as the lowest of four applications and are anticipated to begin construction on the new facility immediately.