Yellowknife city councillors have agreed to waive fees for the walking track and playground at the city’s fieldhouse next year.
Mayor and council had a lengthy discussion – and more than one vote – regarding whether to waive fees and reallocate fieldhouse staff during the third night of budget deliberations on Wednesday.
The idea was first raised during Tuesday night’s deliberations, with the aim of saving the city money by not hiring two new staff members at the soon-to-be-opened aquatic centre. Instead, the plan would be to reallocate a booking clerk and cashier who currently work at the fieldhouse.
A motion to waive fees at the fieldhouse initially failed on Wednesday with five councillors voting against the proposal while three councillors and the mayor voted in favour.
Councillor Steve Payne said he would rather support a review of the city’s Access for All program – which provides low-income residents free access to drop-in recreational activities and public transit – to ensure fee waivers go to people who need them.
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“To give something away for free to someone who does very well, you know, it’s almost like a kick in the butt for people that are really struggling up here,” he said.
Fequet tips the balance
After councillors agreed to remove a new customer service booking supervisor from the budget, councillor Ryan Fequet changed his mind about waiving fees. He tipped the balance in favour of the motion during a second vote.
“I think that opportunity still exists to allow administration to be flexible with the current positions that they have and still have success at the new [aquatic] centre,” he said, “and still give a benefit to residents without costing the city greatly.”
Fequet added new booking software may also take some pressure off city staff.
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Councillors decided to keep a new cashier position for the aquatic centre in the budget.
When cutting both positions was on the table, city manager Stephen Van Dine had cautioned that doing so could result in the fieldhouse having insufficient coverage to maintain staff and public safety.
He added it could also require upgrades to ensure the climbing wall and other facilities are not accessible during hours where there is no staff supervision.
“There are a number of dominoes that sort-of fall into place that do create a bit of a pressure on occupational health and safety as well as staff support and staff safety,” he said.
Dog pound fees to increase
On Wednesday night, councillors also voted to increase the contract for dog pound services to $60,000 from $30,000 to encourage interest from the private sector, as well as raise the impoundment service fee from $100 to $250 a day.
During a presentation about the municipality’s impound service on the first night of budget deliberations, city staff said while the cost for that service has ranged from $27,000 to $30,000 over the past few years, the city paid nearly $63,000 in 2024 due to court-imposed requirements and a need to rent kennel space when a temporary provider reached capacity.
Mayor and council also agreed to defer $95,000 in planned spending for work on intersections near the École St Joseph and NJ Macpherson schools to 2026, to allow city staff time to plan further improvements. They added $10,000 to temporarily address safety concerns at those intersections.
Council’s final evening of budget deliberations is set to begin at 5:15pm on Thursday. They are expected to pass a final budget on December 9.
