Yellowknife city council has permanently abandoned fees at the fieldhouse track and playground after a one-year experiment.
The track has been free for the whole of 2025 because council, trying to solve a staffing dilemma in late 2024, resolved to stop charging those fees at the facility – which allowed them to move an employee elsewhere.
The change was a hit. People loved the free track and several council members said on Tuesday, during 2026 budget deliberations, that they had heard all year about the benefits.
Mayor Ben Hendriksen, who voted against dropping the fees a year ago, said on Tuesday he had made a mistake at the time.
“Sometimes you learn when you’re wrong, and this is one of those instances,” Hendriksen said. “Throughout this year, I have heard the positive impact of this facility.”
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Not all councillors agreed. Tom McLennan said many people had the ability to pay, and any facility made free for a year would generate similarly positive feedback.
“That money should be directly applied to the people who need it,” McLennan said.
City staff say the track was used 37,541 times this year to date and the playground was used 6,396 times. No comparable figures from prior years were provided. Earlier this year, the city said it had lost historical data when it switched booking software.
Councillor Steve Payne said: “It seems like every year, we take from taxpayers. This is just something that we can give back.” But he wasn’t sure the change should be permanent.
The city expects to lose about $149,000 in annual revenue through the move.
The motion passed on Tuesday evening with Payne, McLennan and Rob Warburton in opposition.
