[5. A memorandum regarding whether to: (i) Establish a Tourist Accommodation Tax Reserve; (ii) Amend Financial Administration By ‐law No. 4206, as amended; (iii) Establish a Destination Marketing Advisory Committee; (iv) Enter in to a contract with Northwest Territories Tourism (NWTT) for the provision of destination marketing services; (v) Maintain operation of the]

AND NEXT UP WE HAVE A MEMORANDUM REGARDING WHETHER TO ESTABLISH A TOURIST ACCOMMODATION TAX RESERVE.

AMEND FINANCIAL ADMIN BYLAW NUMBER 4206 AS AMENDED.

ESTABLISH A DESTINATION MARKETING ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH THE NWT TOURISM FOR THE PROVISION OF DESTINATION MARKETING SERVICES AND MAINTAIN OPERATION OF THE VISITOR CENTER FOR THE DURATION OF THE CONTRACT WITH NWT TOURISM. MR. VAN DINE, OVER TO YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CHAIR. I'LL BE TURNING IT OVER SHORTLY TO DIRECTOR THISTLE TO TAKE US THROUGH A PRESENTATION ON THIS, JUST TO REMIND COUNCIL THAT THEY DID APPROVE THE BYLAW TO ESTABLISH ON DECEMBER 9TH.

AND SO THIS PRESENTATION WILL ELABORATE ON ALL OF THE GOVERNANCE STEPS AND ADMINISTRATIVE STEPS NECESSARY TO GET THIS UP AND RUNNING, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE INNOVATIVE PROPOSALS THAT WE HAVE CONTEMPLATED FOR COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION ON HOW TO OPERATE THIS ONCE IT'S ONCE IT'S UP AND RUNNING.

WE HAVE STARTED COLLECTING OR AT LEAST BEING ABLE TO CHARGE SINCE APRIL 1ST AND BUT REMITTANCE HAS NOT YET HAPPENED FOR SINCE THAT TIME. BUT WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DIRECTOR THISTLE TO WALK YOU THROUGH THE CURRENT STATUS.

THANK YOU. HEY, EVERYONE. I ALSO WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE DONNA LEE DEMARCKE.

SHE'S THE CEO FOR NWT TOURISM. SHE'S ONLINE. SHE, UNFORTUNATELY, IS TRAVELING AS PART OF A BIG PROJECT AND UNABLE TO ATTEND IN PERSON.

THIS WAY, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS THAT PERHAPS I'M NOT ABLE TO ANSWER.

MS. DEMARCKE WILL BE ABLE TO ANSWER. I'M QUITE CONFIDENT.

SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THROUGHOUT OR AT THE END.

I'LL LEAVE THAT TO THE CHAIR. OKAY. BECAUSE THEY LEAVE IT TILL THE END.

OKAY. SO I'LL GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. THE THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION IN THE MEMORANDUM THAT CAME FORWARD.

THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS WE'RE ASKING COUNCIL TO GIVE US DIRECTION ON.

SO I WILL TRY AND BE AS DESCRIPTIVE AS POSSIBLE, BUT I WILL ANSWER AS MANY QUESTIONS AS YOU HAVE.

SO, AS MR. VAN DINE INDICATED, IN DECEMBER, A BYLAW WAS PASSED THAT ALLOWED US TO START THE TOURIST ACCOMMODATION TAX.

SO IN THE INTERVENING MONTHS, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF INFORMATION GATHERING WITH RESPECT TO SHORT TERM RENTALS.

WE'VE SENT LETTERS OUT TO ENFORCE THE REQUIREMENT TO HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSE, WE'VE HELD ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS IN PERSON.

WE'VE MET WITH LARGER STAKEHOLDERS LIKE THE EXPLORER NOVA.

ET CETERA. TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE LEVY COLLECTION WOULD START, WHAT WAS GOING TO BE REQUIRED, HOW IT WOULD BE REMITTED, AND WHAT WE WOULD BE USING THOSE FUNDS FOR.

SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK DONE SINCE DECEMBER INTO THIS PROJECT.

SO NOW WE'RE AT THE POSITION WHERE WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THAT MONEY WHICH THEN RELATES TO A DMO OR A DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION.

THEY'RE ALSO REFERRED TO AS DESTINATION MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS.

SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO SAY DMO FOR THE EASE OF THE CONVERSATION.

REALLY, THEY'RE THE GROUP THAT DOES THE MARKETING MANAGEMENT OF YOUR VISITOR EXPERIENCE.

THEY'RE MARKETING US WORLDWIDE, NATIONWIDE. AND THEN THEY ALSO ARE, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH TOUR OPERATORS ABOUT THINGS ON THE GROUND.

SO THERE'S LIKE MORE THAN ONE PART TO THIS. AND THEN VISITOR SERVICES, WHICH IS DISTINCT FROM A DMO, BUT THEY DO HAVE SOME INTERRELATIONS. SO FIRST THE TOURIST ACCOMMODATION TAX AS OF APRIL 1ST ACCOMMODATION PROVIDERS ARE REQUIRED TO BE COLLECTING THE 4% LEVY.

HOWEVER, AS INDICATED IN THE MATERIALS THAT FIRST REMITTANCE IS NOT DUE TILL JULY.

SO WE WON'T REALLY HAVE ANY SENSE OF HOW MUCH THAT'S GOING TO BE THE GENERATION OF REVENUE UNTIL WE GET THAT FIRST LEVY REMITTANCE.

ESSENTIALLY ALL THE DEPOSITS FROM THE ACCOMMODATION PROVIDERS WAY BACK IN LIKE 2016, 2017 WHEN THIS WAS FIRST,

[00:55:07]

YOU KNOW, IN THE WORKS, BEFORE WE EVEN HAD THE LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY TO DO THIS.

WE HAD A CONSULTANT AND IT WAS ESTIMATED AT THAT TIME, KIND OF THE HIGH END.

IF WE HAD 4% LEVY WE COULD COLLECT $1.5 MILLION A YEAR.

I'M A BIT SKEPTICAL ABOUT THAT NUMBER, JUST BECAUSE I THINK IT'S PROBABLY BASED ON IF EVERY ROOM IS RENTED ALL THE TIME.

NO EXEMPTIONS. ET CETERA. ET CETERA. SO THAT'S WHY REALLY, WE'RE GOING TO NEED ABOUT A YEAR UNDER OUR BELTS TO KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE GENERATING AS PART OF THIS. ALSO, WE'RE IN A BIT OF A LEARNING CURVE RIGHT NOW.

IT'S THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS LEVY COLLECTION. ALWAYS.

THERE'S GOING TO BE LITTLE HICCUPS ALONG THE WAY. SO IT MIGHT EVEN BE REALLY UNTIL LIKE THE FIRST REMITTANCE OF THE SECOND YEAR BEFORE WE REALLY HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF HOW MUCH WE'RE GENERATING THROUGH THIS. AND THEN AS PART OF THIS SHORT TERM RENTALS, IT HAD TO BE ADDRESSED.

AND THAT'S WHY EVEN PREVIOUS TO DECEMBER, COUNCIL HAD MADE CHANGES TO THE BUSINESS LICENSE BYLAW AND THE ZONING BYLAW TO MAKE IT A REQUIREMENT FOR SHORT TERM RENTALS TO HAVE BUSINESS LICENSES. I THINK, AS WE ALL KNOW, NOT EVERYBODY DID THAT.

SO AS PART OF THIS, WE HIRED A CONTRACTOR AND THEY'VE CREATED A LIST OF AIRBNBS THAT ARE OPERATING.

AND WE'VE CROSS-REFERENCED THAT WITH OUR BUSINESS LICENSE THAT ARE CURRENTLY EXISTING.

AND THE FIRST STEP WAS ALL THOSE PEOPLE OR BUSINESSES THAT DIDN'T HAVE THEIR BUSINESS LICENSE GOT LETTERS SAYING IT'S A REQUIREMENT TO HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSE.

AND YOU'RE REQUIRED TO COLLECT THE LEVY AS A, AS OF APRIL 1ST.

WHY THIS BECOMES REALLY IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE WHEN PEOPLE DO FILL OUT THAT REMITTANCE FORM, THAT'S GOING TO BE THEIR IDENTIFIER AS THEIR BUSINESS LICENSE NUMBER.

THAT'S A WAY FOR US TO KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THEIR BUSINESS LICENSE.

AND THEN IT MAKES IT THAT THEY CAN'T JUST GO FILL OUT THEIR LEVY REPORT WITHOUT A BUSINESS LICENSE, AND THEN WE HAVE NO IDEA WHERE TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT.

SO IT HITS A NUMBER OF PURPOSES. IT'S DONE DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT PLACES.

FOR EXAMPLE, IN NOVA SCOTIA YOU HAVE TO REGISTER AS A SHORT TERM RENTAL OPERATOR AND YOU GET AN IDENTIFIER NUMBER.

AND THAT'S HOW THEY PAY THEIR LEVY. THAT'S THEIR IDENTIFIER NUMBER.

SO DIFFERENT PLACES HAVE DONE THIS DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE IN SOME PROVINCES IS REGULATED PROVINCIALLY, SOME IT'S REGULATED PROVINCIALLY AND MUNICIPALLY.

SO IT, THERE'S NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL. ALTHOUGH THEY'RE VERY SIMILAR.

OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE'LL BE DOING MORE ENFORCEMENT ON THE REQUIREMENT OF A BUSINESS LICENSE.

THE LETTER WAS THE FIRST STEP. WE'VE REALLY WORKED WITH PEOPLE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.

WE'VE WORKED WITH OUR BUSINESS LICENSING DEPARTMENT THROUGH CORPORATE SERVICES AND THE DEPARTMENT OF IT TO MAKE THIS AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE, AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE. THERE'S BEEN A COUPLE OF BUMPS, BUT WE'VE GOT THROUGH THEM ALL AND WE'RE BEING REALLY, REALLY LENIENT WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE PROCESS.

WE'RE NOT WE'RE NOT IN THIS TO LIKE DAY ONE. YOU WEREN'T THERE, NOW YOU'RE IN TROUBLE.

IT'S MORE OKAY DAY ONE YOU'VE REACHED OUT, YOU'VE GOT YOUR STUFF IN. LET'S GET YOUR BUSINESS LICENSE ISSUED.

SO WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH PEOPLE THROUGH THAT.

AND THE ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS I WOULD NOT SAY WERE WELL ATTENDED, BUT WE DID HAVE PEOPLE ATTEND, AND WE HAD REALLY GREAT DISCUSSIONS WITH THE PEOPLE THAT DID COME.

SO REALLY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE LEVY, THEN IT'S LIKE, WHY ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THE MONEY? AND THAT'S BEEN A BIG QUESTION OF OPERATORS. IT'S LIKE YOU'RE MAKING US COLLECT THE LEVY AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ALL THIS MONEY.

WELL, CITY, WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH IT, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO DO ALL THIS WORK AND THEN FIND OUT YOU'RE JUST USING IT FOR YOUR OWN CITY STUFF. AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE RECOMMENDING A RESERVE, BECAUSE WE'RE REALLY GOING TO GET SCRUTINIZED AND HOW MUCH MONEY WE COLLECT AND WHERE WE PUT THAT MONEY. AND IF IT'S THIS WILL BE THE EASIEST, MOST TRANSPARENT WAY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO SAY THIS IS HOW MUCH MONEY CAME IN AS A PART OF THE TOURIST ACCOMMODATION TAX, AND THIS IS HOW MUCH WE TRANSFERRED OUT TO THE DMO.

SO THERE'S OTHER EXAMPLES, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE THE COMMUNITY GRANT RESERVE, THE HERITAGE RESERVE.

IT, IT JUST WILL MAKE IT A MORE TRANSPARENT PROCESS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.

SO THEN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION, THERE'S A COUPLE OF I MEAN, THERE'S MORE THAN A COUPLE, BUT TWO DISTINCT WAYS TO DO THIS.

ARE YOU CREATE AN OFFER, CREATE A NOT FOR PROFIT SOCIETY, OR YOU GO WITH AN EXISTING NOT FOR PROFIT SOCIETY.

THE REASON IT SAYS NOT FOR PROFIT IS BECAUSE THE CTV ACT SAYS THAT THE CITY CAN DO THINGS, OR YOU CAN ESSENTIALLY CONTRACT A NOT FOR PROFIT.

SO YOU CAN'T CONTRACT FOR A BUSINESS TO DO THIS.

UNDER THE LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS, THERE'S PROS AND CONS TO BOTH.

[01:00:04]

YOU KNOW, WE CAN CREATE OUR OWN NONPROFIT SOCIETY.

IF YOU LOOK AT PREVIOUS WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE IN OUR YK TOURISM WEBSITE, THAT WAS A PROJECT THAT REALLY WENT THROUGH ALL THE STEPS OF HOW WE GO FROM A TO Z TO CREATE A DMO. WE EVEN HAVE THE BYLAWS, SO IT WOULDN'T BE AN ONEROUS TO DRAFT EVERYTHING.

IT'S KIND OF THERE. BUT WE'RE REALLY SOME OF THE DISADVANTAGES ARE THEN WE NEED TO HIRE PEOPLE.

THEY NEED TO HAVE OFFICE SPACE. THEY NEED IT LIKE THERE'S ALL THESE EXPENSES.

AND UNTIL WE'VE GOT A REAL SENSE OF HOW MUCH REVENUE WE'RE GENERATING, IT'S REALLY HARD TO BUDGET FOR THAT.

AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GIVE TO SOMEBODY.

CAN WE AFFORD ONE PERSON OR TWO? CAN WE AFFORD, LIKE, ONE DESK AND ONE LAPTOP? I DON'T KNOW AT THIS POINT BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T GENERATED ANY REVENUE YET.

THE OTHER THING IS, DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO DO ALL THIS WORK OVER ALL THESE YEARS TO GENERATE ENOUGH REVENUE SO WE COULD HIRE SOMEBODY AND HAVE A COMPUTER.

LIKE IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO TRY AND GROW OUR REACH IN DESTINATION MARKETING AND AWARENESS.

AND WE'VE SEEN WHAT A GREAT JOB NWT TOURISM CAN DO WITH A SMALLER BUDGET IN COMPARISON TO OTHER JURISDICTIONS.

AND SO WE KNOW WE CAN DO GOOD THINGS, BUT IT'S LIKE, HOW DO WE DO IT THE BEST WAY? SO THEN THE OTHER OPTION IS EXISTING NOT FOR PROFIT SOCIETY.

SOMEBODY THAT'S ALREADY GOT STAFF, SOMEBODY THAT'S ALREADY GOT AN OFFICE SPACE, SOMEBODY THAT ALREADY KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING. SO THEN REALLY THE ANSWER BECOMES LIKE A NO BRAINER. IT'S NWT TOURISM. AND THAT'S WHAT WE HEARD IN MANY CONVERSATIONS OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, EVEN MAYBE IN THE LAST YEAR, WAS WE REALLY, REALLY THINK, YOU KNOW, NWT TOURISM WOULD BE GOOD FOR THIS.

SO WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS OVER THE PAST YEAR, MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS WITH DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS, AND HEARD IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. SO WE CHATTED WITH NWT TOURISM AND SAID, IS THIS SOMETHING YOU'RE EVEN INTERESTED IN? AND THEY SAID, YES, WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN TRYING IT OUT.

NONE OF US ARE SURE WHERE THIS WILL END UP IN A FEW YEARS, BECAUSE THEY MIGHT DIP THEIR TOE INTO THIS AND THINK IT'S A WONDERFUL THING.

THEY MIGHT DIP THEIR TOE INTO THIS AND THINK IT'S TOO MUCH.

WE CAN'T MARKET THE TERRITORY AND YELLOWKNIFE.

IT'S NOT WORKING OUT. BUT THEY'RE ALREADY THE DMO FOR THE TERRITORY.

WE'VE ALREADY HAD A PRESENTATION FROM MISS DENMARK IN 2024, SHOWING US THE AMAZING WORK THAT NWT TOURISM HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO WITH THEIR SMALLER BUDGET. THEY'RE A KEY PARTNER TO THE CITY IN MANY INITIATIVES LIKE IN THE LAST LIKE 20 YEARS.

WE PARTNER ON THINGS LIKE MARKETING AND INCENTIVES.

WE PARTNER WITH THEM WHEN THEY ATTEND CONFERENCES.

SO WE'VE ATTENDED SPORTS TOURISM EVENTS TOGETHER.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF SYNERGIES HERE. THEY HAVE A TON OF EXPERIENCE IN MARKET.

THEY HAVE CONTACTS INTERNATIONALLY, CONTRACTS INTERNATIONALLY AND STRATEGICALLY.

A LOT OF OUR GOALS ALIGN. SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD THE RECOMMENDATION THAT NWT TOURISM WOULD BE A GREAT FIT.

AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE RECOMMENDING A THREE YEAR CONTRACT.

IT GIVES US ENOUGH TIME TO SEE HOW MUCH REVENUE IS BEING GENERATED BY THE LEVY.

IT GIVES US IN TOURISM ENOUGH TIME TO ASSESS HOW WE FEEL THE RELATIONSHIP IS WORKING OUT.

AND IT GIVES US ENOUGH TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT CAN ACTUALLY BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH THE MONEY THAT WE'RE GENERATING.

THE OTHER THING IS NOT TOURISM HAS ITS OWN BUDGET THAT IT GETS.

THEY ARE FUNDED THROUGH THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT FOR THEIR TERRITORIAL DMO INITIATIVES.

AND THIS WAY WE COULD FUND THEM FOR CITY DMO INITIATIVES.

SO WHILE THE BUDGETS WILL BE SEPARATE AND THERE WILL BE MORE WORK. THIS IS STUFF THAT NWT TOURISM REALLY HAS A HANDLE ON.

SO IT'S NOT A NEW PERSON TRYING TO GET UP AND READY IN THE MARKET.

SO IT'S LIKE INCREASING OUR THE BANG FOR EVERYBODY'S BUCK.

SO THE GWT MONEY, THE CITY MONEY AND TOURISM.

WE FORESEE THIS COULD BE A WONDERFUL THING FOR EVERYBODY. THEN WE HAVE THE VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER.

SO WE TOOK OVER OPERATION OF THIS IN 2018 WHEN NORTHERN FRONTIER VISITORS ASSOCIATION GOT OUT OF THE BUSINESS.

AND AT THE TIME, WE RAN A DOWNSTAIRS IN CITY HALL BECAUSE WE HAD ABOUT THREE WEEKS NOTICE.

SO IT WAS VERY LIKE FAST CHANGEOVER. AND THEN WE'RE REALLY LUCKY A FEW YEARS AGO TO GET FUNDING AND CREATE THE BEAUTIFUL SPACE THAT WE HAVE IN THE DOWNTOWN NOW. WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE AN UNUSED, EMPTY, VACANT SPACE AND TURNED INTO THE BEAUTIFUL VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER THAT NOW GETS THOUSANDS OF VISITORS EVERY MONTH, EVERY YEAR.

AND THE REASON WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY MAINTAIN OPERATION OF THE VISITOR CENTER FOR NOW, ESSENTIALLY FOR THE DURATION OF THE CONTRACT WITH NWT TOURISM IS BECAUSE WE'VE ALSO HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE VISITOR CENTER.

AND ALTHOUGH VISITOR SERVICES AND DESTINATION MARKETING ARE RELATED, THEY'RE NOT THE SAME THING.

[01:05:03]

DESTINATION MARKETING IS ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE HERE, MAKING SURE THEY'RE HAPPY, MAKING SURE THEY TELL GOOD STORIES WHEN THEY LEAVE.

BUT THE VISITOR CENTER IS ABOUT DEALING WITH PEOPLE WHEN THEY'RE HERE. WHERE'S THE MAPS? HOW DO WE DO THAT? WHERE DO WE GET THERE? WHAT'S OPEN? SO THEY'RE RELATED, BUT DIFFERENT. AND AT THIS POINT, NWT TOURISM AND THE CITY FEEL LIKE IT MIGHT BE TOO MUCH FOR THE NWT TOURISM, WHO HAS NO EXPERIENCE IN VISITOR SERVICES. I GUESS I SHOULDN'T SAY NO EXPERIENCE, BUT IT'S NOT THEIR KIND OF BAILIWICK TO TAKE ON.

AT THE SAME TIME, THEY'RE GOING TO DIP THEIR TOES IN DOING THE MUNICIPAL DMO MARKETING SERVICES.

THERE'S ALSO SOME OTHER SOME OTHER INITIATIVES HAPPENING AROUND THE CITY FACILITIES NEW ART CENTERS.

THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON THAT COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE SYNERGIES WITH THE VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER.

AND NONE OF THOSE ARE KNOWN AT THIS TIME EITHER.

ALSO, I HAVE CONCERNS THAT THERE WOULD BE THE OPINION THAT THE LEVY FUNDS COULD BE USED TO OPERATE THE VISITOR CENTER BECAUSE THE TERRITORIAL LEGISLATION SAYS THAT YOU CAN DO THAT. THAT'S NOT WHAT THE CITY EVER ENVISIONED FOR THE LEVY.

IT'S NOT WHAT THE CITY EVER DISCUSSED WITH TOURISM OPERATORS THROUGH THE YEARS LEADING UP TO THIS.

IT WAS ALL ABOUT PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM.

AND SO THERE'S ALSO THE CONCERN THAT IF TOURISM WAS TO TAKE ON THE VISITOR SERVICES, THAT THEN FUNDING MIGHT GET CUT FROM SOMEWHERE.

IN RECOGNITION THAT NOW THEY HAD A REVENUE RESOURCE FROM THE LEVY.

THAT'S NEVER BEEN OUR DISCUSSIONS. IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THE CITY'S INTENTION THAT THE LEVY FUNDS WOULD GET COLLECTED AND THEN REMITTED OVER TO A DMO TO KIND OF GROW VISITATIONS, SPECIFICALLY IN THE OFF TIMES.

AND THEN THE CITY HAS A LITTLE BIT OF FLEXIBILITY IN THIS BECAUSE WE ARE LEASING A SPACE.

SO OUR LEASE WAS FOR FIVE YEARS INITIALLY, AND THEN WE CAN EXTEND THAT FOR A FURTHER FIVE YEARS.

THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON AROUND THE CITY PURCHASES AND SALES AND MOVEMENTS AND FACILITIES.

AND SO WE THINK THAT FOR NOW, THE BEST OPTION BECAUSE THE VISITOR SERVICE VISITOR CENTER IS OPERATING QUITE WELL.

WE'VE GOT GOOD STAFF, GOOD VISITATION NUMBERS NOW, A BEAUTIFUL SPACE.

AND UNTIL WE REALLY SEE THE DUST SETTLE ON ALL THESE OTHER INITIATIVES, WE FEEL LIKE THE BEST THING IS FOR RIGHT NOW IS STATUS QUO FOR THE VISITOR CENTER WHERE IT IS WITH THE CITY OPERATING IT, AND BUT NOT FOREVER, THAT THIS IS LIKE SOMETHING THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED AND REEVALUATED.

AS WE SAID AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE NEXT FEW YEARS, KNOW HOW MUCH REVENUE IS COMING THROUGH, HOW THE SITUATION IS WORKING WITH TOURISM, AND THEN REALLY COME FORWARD WITH A WELL INFORMED DECISION ON HOW WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD WITH THE DMO AND VISITOR SERVICES.

SO NEXT STEPS ARE THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK TO MAKE SURE WE GET THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE RUNNING SHORT TERM RENTALS REGISTERED.

THEY HAVE THEIR BUSINESS LICENSES SO THAT EVERYBODY'S READY TO REMIT IN JULY.

THE CITY WEBSITE WILL BE UPDATED AS WE MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR VENDOR ON THE REMITTANCE FORMS. IT'S GOING TO BE QUITE SIMPLE FORM, AND AS PART OF THAT, WE ALSO HAVE TO WORK WITH THE NEW PROCURE A WAY FOR PAYMENT SO THAT WHEN PEOPLE FILL OUT THEIR LEVY REMITTANCE FORM ONLINE, WHICH WILL BE LIKE A FEW QUESTIONS, THEY CAN PAY AT THE SAME TIME.

HOPEFULLY THAT WON'T BE A PROBLEM IN A YEAR WHEN WE HAVE A NEW WEBSITE.

BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE A BIT LIMITED IN OUR FUNCTIONALITY, SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.

BUT BY JUNE, WE'LL BE HOLDING SOME MORE ENGAGEMENTS, EDUCATION SESSIONS TO SHOW PEOPLE THIS IS HOW YOU FILL OUT YOUR FORM AND THIS IS HOW YOU CAN PAY. SO THAT'LL ALL GET UPDATED IN THE NEXT SIX WEEKS, DEPENDING ON COUNCIL'S DIRECTION.

WE'LL ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH NWT TOURISM TO PROVIDE US MARKETING SERVICES.

AND THEN IN JULY WE'LL BE RECEIVING THE FIRST LEVY REMITTANCES.

I SHOULD NOTE ALSO THAT ANY CONTRACT WE DO ENTER INTO FOR DMO, WHETHER THAT'S NWT TOURISM OR COUNCIL DECIDES TO GO IN ANOTHER DIRECTION.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WRITE THAT IN A FLEXIBLE WAY IN SUCH THAT WE DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH REVENUE WE'RE GOING TO GENERATE, SO WE CAN'T ACTUALLY SAY, WE'RE GOING TO PAY YOU $100,000 AND YOU'RE GOING TO DO THIS WORK. IT'LL HAVE TO BE WRITTEN A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBLY THAT WE THESE ARE THE THINGS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE DONE, BUT ESSENTIALLY WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE GIVING YOU.

SO IT'LL BE A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT SCENARIO AT THE BEGINNING, BECAUSE WE CAN'T ACTUALLY COMMIT TO HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE GOING TO BE COLLECTING.

AND NWT TOURISM IS FULLY AWARE OF THAT. SO I AM HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

AND LOOK FORWARD TO MOVING FORWARD. AND LIKE I SAID, DONNELLY IS ON THE CALL AS WELL.

[01:10:02]

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR THISTLE AND COUNCILLOR WARBURTON.

I SAW YOUR HAND UP THERE FIRST. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

EXCELLENT PRESENTATION. MY QUESTION IS AROUND THE VISITOR CENTER.

I'M STILL NOT SEEING, LIKE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TENDERING THIS OUT AND HAVING SOMEBODY ELSE OPERATE IT FOR A LONG TIME NOW.

I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE MOVING PARTS WITH FACILITIES IN THE CITY.

WE HAVE MOVING PARTS WITH THE DMO, BUT I'M STILL FAILING TO UNDERSTAND WHY IT WOULD HINDER US TO TENDER THIS FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS.

SO BECAUSE IT WOULD IMPEDE THOSE THINGS. THE BUILDING OPERATIONS AND LOCATION ARE NOT REALLY CONNECTED.

WELL, THEY ARE, BUT LIKE, YOU COULD TENDER THAT OUT, AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOREVER. AND YOU STILL HAVE THE OPTION TO RETENDER IT IN THREE YEARS AND THINGS LINE UP. SO JUST KIND OF THE RATIONALE ABOUT, YOU KNOW AND I DON'T WANT TO PRESUME ENERGY TOURISM WILL WANT IT AND OR GET IT WHEN WE TENDER IT. SO JUST WHY THAT WAS A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON WHY THAT'S NOT BEING CONSIDERED RIGHT NOW.

GO AHEAD. SO, THERE'S A IT'S A LITTLE BIT LAYERED, BUT ONE THE VISITOR CENTER ACTUALLY HAS HAD A BIT OF A BUMPY ROAD. IT OPENED. AND SINCE ITS OPENING DATE, 2024, WAS THE ONLY REGULAR YEAR WE HAD IT OPENED IN THE FALL.

THEN WE HAD COVID AND IT CLOSED. THEN WE HAD A STRIKE, THEN WE HAD EVACUATIONS.

SO, LIKE, THE VISITOR CENTERS REALLY HAD A ROCKY ROAD.

SO 2024 WAS OUR FIRST REGULAR YEAR. I JUST WANT TO PREFACE IT WITH THAT.

THE OTHER THING IS AT THE VISITOR CENTER, WE DON'T SELL ANYTHING.

AND THAT WAS LIKE WITH A DELIBERATE DECISION SO THAT WE WOULDN'T COMPETE WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES.

SO WE DON'T SELL MERCHANDISE, WE DON'T SELL TOURS LIKE WE DON'T DO ANY OF THAT.

NWT TOURISM, THEY DO WORK WITH TOUR OPERATORS AND THEIR MEMBERSHIP BASE.

THEY'RE ALSO UNIQUE. AND IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS, DONNA LEE CAN SPEAK TO THAT.

THEY'RE UNIQUE TO HOW A PROVINCIAL OR TERRITORIAL DMO OPERATES IN THE COUNTRY.

BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE TWO ARMS. BUT WE DON'T DO THAT AT THE VISITOR CENTER.

WE DON'T SELL ANYTHING. AND THAT WAS ONE THING WE NOTED.

UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN NFEA DID HAVE TO CLOSE SOME OF IT WAS DUE TO FINANCES AND OPERATION OF THE BUILDING, AND THEY HAD TO GENERATE SO MUCH REVENUE TO BE ABLE TO COVER COSTS OF WHAT THEY WERE DOING.

SO THEY SOLD THINGS. THEY SOLD DIAMONDS AND MERCHANDISE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.

AND WE DON'T DO THAT. PEOPLE COME IN TO GET THEIR CERTIFICATE AND THEIR PIN, AND WE DON'T CHARGE FOR THAT EITHER.

SO WE DON'T TAKE ANY MONEY AT THE VISITOR CENTER.

THE CITY RECEIVES FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF HUNDRED AND $61,000 A YEAR, OR IT HAS TO DATE FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY, TOURISM AND INVESTMENT. AND THERE'S A BUDGET AMOUNT PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF YELLOWKNIFE.

FOR EVERY YEAR THAT I'VE BEEN HERE AND EVERY YEAR IT'S INDEXED FOR THE MUNICIPAL PRICE INDEX.

SO I THINK THIS YEAR WHEN I LOOKED, IT WAS ABOUT 113,000 AND CHANGE.

SO THOSE ARE THE TWO STEADFAST POTS OF MONEY.

WE ONLY HAVE 2024 TO BASE WHAT COSTS WOULD BE ON BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE A REGULAR YEAR BEFORE.

AND THOSE ARE OUR TWO KIND OF STEADFAST POTS OF MONEY.

WE ARE LUCKY IN THAT WHEN WE'VE APPLIED FOR OTHER AREAS OF FUNDING, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE UPGRADED THE AURORA SECTION UPGRADES TO THE WEBSITE WERE ITIS BEEN GREAT AND APPROVED FUNDING APPLICATIONS OF THAT NATURE WHICH HELPS US MAKE THE IMPROVEMENTS AT THE VISITOR CENTER.

AND IT'S NOT ALL AT THE COST OF THE CITY. SO TODAY WE HAVEN'T HAD A GREAT IDEA OF HOW MUCH MONEY IT WILL COST TO OPERATE THE VISITOR CENTER.

NOW WE HAVE A BETTER ONE. I'M SKEPTICAL THAT SOMEBODY WOULD BE ABLE TO OFFER THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE IN THE SAME WAY, FOR THE SAME BUDGET. SO WITHOUT SELLING THINGS.

SO IT'S A VERY COMPLICATED QUESTION. WE HAVE TALKED TO OTHER TO GROUPS WITHIN THE CITY.

AND WHILE THERE MAY BE INTEREST IT'S NOT, LIKE, URGENT.

SO WE FEEL THAT THE MOST WHOLESOME WAY TO LOOK AT THIS IS IN A FEW YEARS WHEN WE KNOW WHAT NWT TOURISM, HOW THEY'RE DOING, WHEN WE HAVE REAL SENSE OF HOW THE VISITOR CENTER HAS BEEN DOING.

WHEN WE HAVE REAL SENSE OF WHERE THINGS ARE GOING TO BE AND PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE AND HOW PLACES ARE GOING TO OPERATE THEN WE'LL BE AT A WAY BETTER PLACE TO MAKE AN EDUCATED INFORMED RECOMMENDATION TO COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL.

WE CAN APPLY FOR DIFFERENT POTS OF MONEY EVEN TO DO THOSE UPGRADES THAN, SAY, A PRIVATE BUSINESS COULD.

THEN IF WE SAY YOU CAN HAVE, LIKE, WE TENDER OUT THE VISITOR CENTER, BUT THEN THEY'RE SELLING THINGS NOW THEY'RE COMPETING WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES.

SO IT'S A COMPLICATED SCENARIO. IF YOU REMEMBER, BACK IN 2018, WE DID A VISITOR SERVICES STRATEGY,

[01:15:06]

AND THEY LOOKED AT VARIOUS OPTIONS. AT THE TIME, IT WAS RECOMMENDED LIKE A CITY CENTRAL LIKE MODEL.

THEY SAID PERHAPS LIKE THE CHAMBER COULD BE SOMEONE THAT COULD OPERATE IT.

THEY ALSO LOOKED AT IT BEING A PUBLIC OFFICE OR A NEW BUILD.

AND AT THE TIME, THERE WAS NO THE REASON NOT A PUBLIC OFFICE WAS ESSENTIALLY BECAUSE WE WANTED OUR BOARDROOM BACK.

WELL, GUESS WHAT? WE DON'T HAVE OUR BOARDROOM BACK AND T HE VISITOR CENTER HAS BEEN GONE FOR THREE YEARS, AND WE DID DO A NEW, NEW BUILD. SO EVEN THE VISITOR SERVICES STRATEGY, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD COME BACK WITH THE SAME RECOMMENDATION, IF IT WAS BASED ON THE SAME FACTS AS TODAY, EITHER BECAUSE THOSE OPTIONS WEREN'T PUSHED AWAY BECAUSE OF ANYTHING REALLY, OTHER THAN WHAT I'VE JUST INDICATED. SO I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.

THANKS, IT DOES. I JUST DON'T WANT TO CLOSE THE DOOR TO THE OPERATIONS BEING TENDERED AT SOME POINT.

THERE'S SCOPE CREEP. WE JUST WANT TO HAVE THINGS IN HOUSE AND WE KEEP CREEPING.

AND MY WORRY IS THAT IT STICKS AND IT BECOMES YET ANOTHER DIVISION DEPARTMENT, AND THEN IT GROWS AND NEEDS MORE STAFF AND BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. SO I WOULD LIKE TO AVOID THAT SCOPE CREEP BECAUSE GOVERNMENT WRIT LARGE IS VERY GUILTY OF THIS.

SO YEAH, IF WE CAN REVISIT IT SOONER IN THREE YEARS, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THAT PRESENTATION, BUT KEEP THAT DOOR OPEN. THANK YOU. THANKS VERY MUCH.

NEXT WE HAVE COUNCILLOR COCHRANE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. CHAIR. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.

DIRECTOR THISTLE. I DO SUPPORT GOING INTO AN AGREEMENT FOR THREE YEARS WITH THE NWT TOURISM ASSOCIATION FOR THE OPERATION OF THE DMO.

I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS THE MOST PRUDENT WAY TO GO FORWARD, AND I'M GLAD WE'VE COME TO THAT CONCLUSION.

I ALSO, AS OF NOW, ALSO SUPPORT THE CONTINUATION OF THE STATUS QUO WITH THE VISITOR CENTER, THOUGH I DO TAKE COUNCILOR WARBURTON'S POINT VERY SERIOUSLY, AND I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE CERTAINLY A DISCUSSION POINT FOR THE NEW COMMITTEE TO REALLY BRING FORWARD ONCE WE HAVE DATA, BECAUSE ALSO, I SEE THE VISITOR CENTER MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, OUR PRIMARY PLACE FOR DATA EXTRACTION, WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO DETERMINE HOW WE GO FORWARD TO REACH OUR STRATEGIC GOALS FOR VISITOR SERVICES.

OUTSIDE OF THAT NO REAL QUESTIONS. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND NEXT, I HAVE COUNCILOR FEQUET.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. YEAH, MAYBE JUST BUILDING ON THAT LAST POINT YOU MADE FIRST.

FROM THE MEMO, IT TALKS ABOUT HOW THE FOCUS OF THE DMO IS TO BUILD BRAND AWARENESS FOR YELLOWKNIFE, AND TO PARTICIPATE IN MARKETING AND SALES ACTIVITIES THAT WILL INCREASE VISITORS AND VISITOR SPENDING IN THE CITY.

I RECOGNIZE THE DMO AND A VISITOR CENTER HAVE DIFFERENT PURPOSES, BUT THE VISITOR SPENDING IN THE CITY IS THE OBVIOUS OVERLAP.

ONCE PEOPLE ARE HERE, THE OTHER THING THAT DMO IS SUPPOSED TO DO IS GET THEM TO SPEND.

SHOW THEM WHERE TO GO. WHO WILL TAKE YOU OUT ON THE LAND, GO FISHING, WHATEVER.

SO THERE IS AN ABSOLUTE OPPORTUNITY FOR INTEGRATION OF THE VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER AND THE DMO.

SO I GUESS I'M JUST CURIOUS FROM NWT TOURISM'S PERSPECTIVE.

THANK YOU. THANKS, DONNA LEE, FOR BEING ON THE PHONE.

WHAT IS THE MAIN BARRIER FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? FOR NWT TOURISM, OPERATING THE VISITOR'S INFORMATION CENTER AT THIS TIME.

MS. DEMARCKE , IF YOU'RE THERE AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND.

HI, EVERYBODY. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO JOIN TODAY.

I, I THINK THE MAIN BARRIER WOULD JUST BE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MANAGE THE NEW ROLE OF, OF SPECIFICALLY MARKETING FOR YELLOWKNIFE.

FIRST, BEFORE WE TAKE ON THE ROLE OF ACTUALLY LOOKING AT THE VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER MANAGEMENT AS WELL.

I'M NOT SAYING THAT IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT NWT TOURISM ISN'T INTERESTED IN.

I JUST THINK THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING CAUTIOUS, AND WE'RE DOING IT IN THE RIGHT WAY, AND THE WAY THAT SERVES THE CITY OF YELLOWKNIFE THE BEST WAY. AND IF COUNCIL DECIDED AT THE END OF THE DAY THAT THIS, THESE TWO THINGS WERE TO BE TIED.

SORRY, SORRY. JUST ONE SECOND. SORRY. MS. DEMARCKE , YOU WERE STILL GIVING YOUR RESPONSE AND COUNCILLOR FEQUET THOUGHT YOU HAD STOPPED.

CLEARLY JUST THE DELAY BETWEEN YOUR TWO SIDES OF IT. SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO FINISH YOUR COMMENT FIRST, AND THEN I'LL FLIP IT OVER TO COUNCILLOR FEQUET. THANK YOU.

I WAS JUST SAYING, IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, COUNCIL DECIDED NEEDED TO BE TIED, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT NWT TOURISM WOULD BACK AWAY FROM.

I JUST THINK THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IT'S RUNNING VERY SMOOTHLY RIGHT NOW.

AND WE WANT TO TAKE ON AND BE VERY RESPECTFUL AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING THE BEST FOR THE CITY.

AND I THINK TAKING ONE THING ON AT A TIME IS THE BEST WAY TO DO IT RIGHT NOW.

[01:20:02]

THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND BACK TO YOU, COUNCILOR FEQUET.

THANKS, MR. CHAIR. THANKS FOR THAT RESPONSE. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU GUYS HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY, AND THAT TOTALLY MAKES SENSE AT THIS TIME. MAYBE THIS IS A QUESTION FOR [INAUDIBLE] FIRST, I'M NOT SURE OR NWT TOURISM, BUT RECOGNIZING THE UNCERTAINTY RELATED TO THE REVENUES ALTHOUGH WE HAVE ONE ESTIMATE FROM A PREVIOUS STUDY.

AND I KNOW YOU GUYS OBVIOUSLY JUST MAILED OUT LETTERS TO EVERYBODY.

SO, YOU KNOW, YOU MUST KNOW AT LEAST THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO BE PAYING US LEVIES.

SO HOW IS OUR AGREEMENT GOING TO BE STRUCTURED OR WHAT MECHANISMS ARE GOING TO BE USED TO SET THE TARGETS OR SET THE DELIVERABLES WHEN WE HAVE AN UNCERTAIN AMOUNT OF REVENUE? CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN KIND OF WHAT YOU'RE ENVISIONING, HOW THAT WILL FOLD OUT? MR. VAN DINE OR MISS THISTLE? THANKS FOR THE QUESTION.

I CAN START, AND THEN IF DONNA LEE HAS ANYTHING SHE'D LIKE TO ADD, BY ALL MEANS.

FROM ADMINS PERSPECTIVE, THE CONTRACT WILL NEVER BE WRITTEN WITH.

WE ARE GOING TO TRANSFER YOU $1,000 SO YOU CAN DO $1,000 OF ADS, OR WE'RE GOING TO TRANSFER YOU $2,000 SO YOU CAN ATTEND THIS CONFERENCE.

REALLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS THE DESTINATION MARKETING ADVISORY COMMITTEE WOULD SET LIKE A GENERAL MARKETING GOALS AND INITIATIVES THAT COUNCIL WILL APPROVE, AND THEN WE'LL PROVIDE THAT TO NWT TOURISM, AND THEY'LL COME BACK WITH A PLAN AND HOW THEY CAN IMPLEMENT IT WITHIN THE BUDGET.

SO THE AGREEMENT WILL HAVE TO BE WRITTEN, AS I'VE INDICATED, IN A FLEXIBLE WAY, THAT WILL BE LIKE THESE ARE OUR GENERAL MARKETING INITIATIVES AND GOALS OR TARGETS, HOWEVER YOU WANT TO PHRASE IT, AND THAT IT'S SUBJECT TO LIKE, THEIR IMPLEMENTATION WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE REMIT TO THEM.

RIGHT NOW, THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE CAN GET THE DMO STARTED AT THIS POINT.

IF NOT, THE ALTERNATIVE WOULD BE WE'D HAVE TO WAIT ALL THE WAY TILL NEXT SUMMER AND COME BACK AND KNOW HOW MUCH BUDGET WE HAD, BECAUSE WE'D HAVE IT IN THE BANK, SO WE'D HAVE TO, LIKE, WAIT TILL WE HAD IT IN THE BANK AND THEN GO OUT.

IN THIS WAY, WE CAN GET STARTED SOONER. AND JUST MAKE IT SUBJECT TO THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IS AVAILABLE.

DONNA LEE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAD ANYTHING TO ADD MS. DEMARCKE. YES. THANK YOU. YEAH, I THINK THAT WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE IN THE FACT THAT NWT TOURISM HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A LITTLE BIT NIMBLE.

YOU KNOW, WE CAN LOOK AT THE FIRST REMITTANCE AND GO, OKAY, HOW CAN WE ELEVATE SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING? WE KNOW WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE OUT THERE THAT WE'RE ALREADY NOT ABLE TO DO FOR THE CITY OF YELLOWKNIFE, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE BUDGET TO DO IT. SO THEN ONCE WE SEE, LET'S JUST SAY THE FIRST REMITTANCE, THE SECOND REMITTANCE, WE GO, OKAY, WE KNOW NOW THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY ATTEND THIS SPECIFIC TRADE SHOW OR CONFERENCE.

AND, AND NOW ELEVATE SOME OF THE, THE AWARENESS OF THE CITY BASED ON, ON THIS.

SO I THINK THE NICE THING IS, IS THAT BY PARTNERING WITH NWT TOURISM RIGHT OFF THE BAT, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO TO START RIGHT AWAY.

WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR OR POTENTIALLY A YEAR AND A AND A QUARTER TO FIGURE OUT KIND OF WHERE, WHERE THE, WHAT THE FUNDING LEVEL IS GOING TO BE.

WE CAN PRETTY MUCH HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. AND SO I THINK THAT'S PRETTY SAYING.

AS LONG AS, AS MISS THISTLE MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT TOO PRESCRIPTIVE IN, IN WHAT THE ACTIVITIES HAVE TO BE, JUST THAT THE GENERAL IS THAT WE'RE TO ELEVATE THE AWARENESS IN THE MARKETING OF, OF THE CITY.

COUNCILLOR FEQUET. THANKS FOR THAT, DONNELLY.

HOW DOES NWT TOURISM AT THE MOMENT SET OUT ITS PLAN EACH YEAR OR FOR, YOU KNOW, A FEW YEARS IN ADVANCE? WHAT'S THAT PROCESS LOOK LIKE AT THE MOMENT? GO AHEAD, MS. DEMARCKE . THANK YOU. SO WE HAVE A FAIRLY SET POT OF FUNDING.

SO WE ARE NOW IN THE PROCESS WHERE EVERY YEAR WE SET A MARKETING PLAN AND A BUDGET WITH ACTIVITIES.

SO TO GO FORWARD FOR EACH YEAR. HOWEVER, WE DO APPLY FOR FUNDING FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES.

AND THEN AS WE RECEIVE THAT FUNDING, WE'RE ABLE TO THEN GO, OKAY, NOW WE'RE ABLE TO ELEVATE SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, LOOK AT DIFFERENT MARKETS, LOOK AT DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES.

SO AGAIN, WE HAVE TO WHEN WE WHEN WE GET DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES, WE WE ARE VERY NIMBLE.

AND THINGS CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. BUT WE HAVE A BOARD THAT WE ANSWER TO AND DEFINITELY BRING OUR, OUR VISION TO THE BOARD AND, AND OUR PARTNERS THAT FUND US.

COUNCILLOR FEQUET. THANK YOU FOR THAT. ANOTHER QUESTION, I GUESS, FOR MAYBE DONNA LEE FIRST AND THEN ALSO ADMIN.

JUST KIND OF WONDERING ABOUT THE PROPOSED COMMITTEE, THE DMAC THAT IS IN OUR IN OUR MEMO AND RECOGNIZING THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE RUN BY A BOARD AND OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE A TERRITORIAL MANDATE, NOT JUST A CITY FOCUS,

[01:25:02]

BUT THAT'S KIND OF A PIECE THAT YOU WOULD BE TAKING ON AS AN ADDITIONAL ROLE.

HOW DO YOU SEE THAT? LIKE, IS THE COMMITTEE NECESSARY IN ORDER FOR YOU TO EXECUTE, ESPECIALLY IN A YEAR WHEN YOU HAVE UNCERTAIN REVENUE AND LET'S SAY EVOLVING TARGETS OR OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS AS THE REVENUE BECOMES MORE CLEAR.

MS. LOPEZ, TO YOU FIRST, AND YOU CAN DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO RESPOND FIRST OR MS. DEMARCKE , I CAN GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK AND THEN I CAN PASS IT ALONG.

IT'S WHILE THE DESTINATION MARKETING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MAY NOT BE NECESSARY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF MARKETING SERVICES BY A DMO, ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDED IT BECAUSE WHAT WE HEARD FROM EVERY SINGLE OPERATOR WE TALKED TO IS WHAT IS THE CITY DOING WITH THE MONEY? WHAT IS THE MONEY GOING TO BE USED FOR? WHAT SAY DO WE GET? AND NWT TOURISM DOES HAVE A BOARD BUT THEIR TERRITORIAL DMO.

SO THEY HAVE TERRITORIAL REPRESENTATION. AND WHAT WE HEARD WAS FROM LOCAL BUSINESSES AND OPERATORS IS WE WANT TO KNOW HOW THAT FUNDING SPENT, AND WE WANT TO KNOW HOW WE GET TO HAVE INPUT INTO THAT.

AND SO THE FORMATION OF A COMMITTEE THAT REPORTS REPORT TO COUNCIL GIVES THE LOCAL TOURISM INDUSTRY THAT ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MARKETING AND USE OF THOSE FUNDS. AND IT'S ALSO THE FEEDBACK LIKE LOOP TO COUNCIL.

AND THIS IS WHAT TOUR OPERATORS AND INDUSTRY WANT AND NEED OR SUGGEST.

AND IT'S ALSO COUNCIL'S OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE FEEDBACK TO THE COMMITTEE TO SAY, WELL WHAT ABOUT THIS.

AND THEN NWT TOURISM CAN TAKE ALL THAT INFORMATION AND THEN PROVIDE THEIR PLAN IN RESPONSE TO WHAT THEY HEAR FROM COUNCIL AND THE COMMITTEE.

SO YES, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND CONTRACT WITH NWT TOURISM AND PROVIDE MARKETING SERVICES.

BUT WE'RE GOING TO MISS THAT FEEDBACK LOOP. SO DONNA LEE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD, MISS DEMARCKE. THANK YOU. YEAH. AND I THINK I THINK KERRY SAID IT.

WELL, I THINK TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY OF YELLOWKNIFE IS HAVING REPRESENTATION FROM THE BUSINESSES THAT WORK AND WORK ALONGSIDE THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN THE CITY. IT'S I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA.

I DO THINK IF YOU KNOW, IF AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE CITY DECIDED THAT MAYBE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DEVELOP THAT, THAT COMMITTEE. I MEAN, I THINK THERE'S REPRESENTATION THROUGH COUNCIL THAT ALSO COULD DO THE WORK, BUT I THINK THAT HAVING THE VOICE OF PEOPLE THAT WORK IN THE INDUSTRY IS, IS A GREAT IDEA.

I THINK SOMETHING JUST TO NOTE AS WELL IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A MEMBER BASED ORGANIZATION.

I THINK KARI TOUCHED ON IT BRIEFLY IS THAT WE'RE THE MARKETING ORGANIZATION.

WE'RE ALSO THE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION FOR TOURISM ACROSS THE TERRITORY.

OUR MEMBERS, WE HAVE ROUGHLY 200 MEMBERS ACROSS THE TERRITORY, BUT 70% OF OUR MEMBERSHIP IS BASED IN YELLOWKNIFE.

SO WE DO HAVE A VERY GOOD HANDLE ON THE VOICE OF TOURISM FOR YELLOWKNIFE.

JUST SOMETHING ELSE TO CONSIDER AS WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.

COUNCILLOR FEQUET. THANKS, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU.

THANKS FOR THAT RESPONSE, KERRY AND DONNELLY AND.

YEAH, AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, I 100% SUPPORT ENERGY TOURISM ENTERING INTO A CONTRACT FOR THAT EXACT REASON YOU JUST MENTIONED.

YOU KNOW, 140 TO 200 MEMBERS ARE HERE, AND YOU GUYS DO HAVE YOUR FINGER ON THE PULSE.

I GUESS WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS IS BOTH ON THE COMMITTEE AND THE RESERVE QUESTION.

IN GENERAL, AS A COUNCIL, WE'RE TRYING TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE THINGS MORE EFFECTIVE AND EASIER.

TAKE AWAY RED TAPE, REDUCE COMMITTEES WHERE POSSIBLE, NOT, YOU KNOW, REDUCE RESERVES WHERE POSSIBLE.

AND SO THIS PROPOSAL BEFORE US IS BOTH AN EXTRA COMMITTEE AND AN EXTRA RESERVE.

AND I THINK THERE'S KIND OF TWO ELEMENTS THAT, IN MY MIND AT LEAST, ARE DIFFERENT.

ONE IS ABOUT THE DECISION MAKING. SO IF YOU'RE SAYING THIS COMMITTEE IS GOING TO HELP SET THE STRATEGY AND THAT'S REPORTING BACK TO COUNCIL, AND THEN TOURISM HAS TO TAKE WHATEVER BUDGET IS AVAILABLE AND IMPLEMENT THAT STRATEGY, OR IS IT ACTUALLY ACTIVITIES? AND THIS IS ACTUALLY AN OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE THAT TOURISM CAN HAVE TO MAKE SURE IT'S YELLOWKNIFE FOCUSED AND IT INVOLVES THE RIGHT PEOPLE, BECAUSE YOU ALREADY KNOW THOSE PEOPLE, THEY'RE YOUR MEMBERS, BUT IT'S MORE OF AN OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE THAT IS HELPING YOU BRAINSTORM ACTIVITIES.

AND IT'S LESS ABOUT STRATEGY BECAUSE I THINK THE STRATEGY IS PRETTY CLEAR.

THERE'S LOTS OF DOCUMENTS. WE HAVE LOTS OF STUDIES ALREADY. WE SPENT LOTS OF MONEY FIGURING OUT GENERAL STRATEGIES AND OUTCOMES.

AND I'M RELUCTANT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO NECESSARILY SET THOSE IN THE FIRST YEAR OR TWO BECAUSE OF THE REVENUE UNCERTAINTY.

SO TO ME, IF ANY TOURISM WISHES TO HAVE AN OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE TO HELP THEM.

COOL. IF YOU THINK YOU NEED THAT AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF SETTING UP ANOTHER COMMITTEE.

BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S JUST US GETTING OUR HANDS IN THE WEEDS. AND I THINK YOU GUYS ARE THE EXPERTS. AND AS LONG AS THERE'S PEOPLE THAT ARE INVOLVED IN EITHER THE DECISION MAKING

[01:30:07]

PROCESS ABOUT THE STRATEGY OR THE ACTIVITIES AND THE ACTIONS THAT ARE GOING TO HAPPEN ON THE GROUND, WHICH AGAIN, THAT'S AN OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE. THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE NEED. SO YEAH.

MAYBE A QUESTION FOR AMANDA TO THAT IS SETTING UP A RESERVE THE ONLY MECHANISM THAT THE CITY HAS TO TRACK REVENUE AND EXPENSES TO DEMONSTRATE THROUGH OUR FINANCIAL REPORTING, YOU KNOW, SPECIFIC MONEY WE COLLECT FROM A SPECIFIC PURPOSE, SUCH AS THIS ACCOMMODATION LEVY. OR CAN WE DO THAT WITHOUT SETTING UP A RESERVE? MR. VAN DINE. I'LL FLIP THIS ONE TO YOU. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. WE CERTAINLY HAVE DONE THE ANALYSIS TO SUGGEST THAT THIS WOULD BE PROBABLY THE MOST TRANSPARENT AND EFFECTIVE WAY WITH WHICH TO DEAL WITH THIS SOURCE OF REVENUE.

I'LL INVITE MR. PANDOO TO ELABORATE FURTHER TO GIVE COUNCIL MORE CONFIDENCE AND ASSURANCE THAT THIS IS A PRUDENT RECOMMENDATION.

THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. YEAH. AT THIS POINT, I THINK MR. VAN DINE HAS ALREADY GIVEN A VERY CLEAR EXPLANATION.

SORRY, MY FRENCH TURRET IS PLAYING UP HERE. NO.

AT THIS POINT, I THINK HAVING THE RESERVE IS THE BEST WAY FORWARD.

UNTIL SUCH TIME, WE KIND OF FIGURE OUT IF IT IS THE BEST WAY FORWARD.

THANK YOU. FAIR ENOUGH, MR. COUNCILLOR FEQUET.

THANKS, MR. CHAIR. MAYBE I'LL JUST LEAVE IT THERE. AND TO HEAR FROM OTHER COUNCILORS BEFORE I HAVE SOME MORE DETAILED THOUGHTS ABOUT THE COMPOSITION OF SAID COMMITTEE.

SHOULD THAT BE SOMETHING WE DO AT THIS TIME? BUT, YEAH, I'LL PASS IT.

I'LL WAIT TILL THEN TOO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND COUNCILLOR ARDEN-SMITH. THANK YOU. I HAD I THINK, ONE QUESTION BECAUSE MANY OF THE OTHER QUESTIONS HAD ALREADY BEEN ASKED. AND I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN I ALREADY KNOW THE RESPONSE TO THIS, BUT I JUST WANT TO PUT IT OUT THERE FOR DONNA LEE AND FOR ADMINISTRATION.

NOTING THAT NWT TOURISM ALREADY HAS AN AGREEMENT WITH THE NWT AND THEN GOING INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF YELLOWKNIFE.

DO YOU FORESEE A CONFLICT HAPPENING WHATSOEVER? AND IF SO, HOW ARE WE GOING TO NAVIGATE THAT? GOOD QUESTION. MISS DEMARCKE OR MISS THISTLE? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. AND WE HAVE PUT SOME THOUGHT TOWARDS THAT.

AND ACTUALLY WE'RE NOT SO CONCERNED ABOUT CONFLICT IN THAT RESPECT AS POTENTIALLY BUDGET REDUCTIONS.

SO CONFLICT THE CITY AND NWT TOURISM HAVE THE SAME, SIMILAR MARKETING INITIATIVES, DESIRES WHERE WE WANT THE SAME THING FOR THE CITY.

THEY MARKET THE ENTIRE TERRITORY, BUT THE CITY IS LIKE GOT HALF THE POPULATION, AS YOU JUST HEARD FROM MS. DEMARCKE. YOU KNOW, 70% OF THE TOURISM OPERATORS ARE LOCATED IN THE CITY.

SO WE'RE NOT SO CONCERNED ABOUT CONFLICT IN THAT RESPECT.

WHAT WE REALLY SEE IS THIS BEING A WAY TO HAVE THE CITY'S INTEREST FOREFRONT IN WAYS THEY HAVEN'T BEEN BEFORE.

AND THEN, AS WE KNOW HOW MUCH GENDER REVENUE IS GENERATED, THEN THAT'LL DICTATE WHAT NWT TOURISM CAN OR CAN'T DO IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.

MAYBE IT MEANS THEY GET TO HIRE AN EXTRA PERSON BECAUSE WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY BEING GENERATED.

AND THAT PERSON SOLELY DEDICATED TO MARKETING THE CITY OF YELLOWKNIFE.

BUT WE WON'T DO THAT IN JULY. BUT MAYBE BY NEXT JULY, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.

SO YEAH, WE WEREN'T REALLY CONCERNED SO MUCH ABOUT THE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST IN IN HOW WE WANT TO MARKET OURSELVES.

YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SPECTACULAR. WE'RE EXTRAORDINARY.

SO BUT IT WAS MORE ABOUT WE DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY BUDGET REDUCTIONS.

WE WOULDN'T WANT TO SEE NWT TOURISM BUDGET REDUCED.

BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE THIS LEVY BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO GROW THE MARKETING AND GROW THE BUDGET AND GROW OUR IMPACT.

AND SO THAT'S WHY WE DID ALL THIS. IT WASN'T TO REPLACE SOMETHING.

SO DONNA LEE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD.

MS. DEMARCKE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.

COUNCILLOR ARDEN-SMITH. I THINK IT'S A REALLY VALID ONE.

AND DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'VE PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO AS WELL.

AND I WILL SAY THAT, I MEAN, I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR FUNDING PARTNERS ALONG THE WAY TO ENSURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO TRY TO ACCOMPLISH HERE AND THAT IT CAN ELEVATE THE WORK THAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING.

IT IS MY JOB AND OUR JOB TO CONSISTENTLY MAKE SURE THAT OUR PARTNERS ARE ALL ON BOARD AND KNOW THAT YOU KNOW, WE DON'T, UNFORTUNATELY, HAVE THE LEVEL OF FUNDING THAT WE NEED TO PROPERLY DO THE WORK TO MARKET THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES OR YELLOWKNIFE AND THAT THIS IS ANOTHER STEP FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS IN A BETTER WAY.

AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT AND CONTINUALLY UNDERSTANDS THAT GOING FORWARD.

[01:35:02]

SO AS FAR AS LIKE A CONFLICT, I DON'T SEE IT BEING A CONFLICT.

I REALLY SEEING IT. I REALLY SEE THIS ELEVATING THE WORK THAT WE'RE ALREADY GETTING TO DO.

AND I REALLY SEE THIS AS A WIN FOR THE CITY OF YELLOWKNIFE.

AND, YOU KNOW, THE REALITY IS, IS WHEN YELLOWKNIFE IS DOING WELL, SO IS THE REST OF THE TERRITORY.

SO AND THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP AT THE FOREFRONT.

THANK YOU FOR THAT RESPONSE, COUNCILOR ARDEN-SMITH. PERFECT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND LIKE I SAID, I WAS FAIRLY CERTAIN I ALREADY KNEW THE ANSWER TO THIS, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC IS AWARE THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE NWT AND THE CITY OF YELLOWKNIFE WE WORK SO CLOSE AND LIKE YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, IF YELLOWKNIFE IS DOING WELL, THE REST OF THE NWT IS ALSO DOING WELL.

THAT, YOU KNOW YELLOWKNIFERS ARE, ARE CONFIDENT IN THIS AGREEMENT.

I AM IN FULL SUPPORT. I BELIEVE YOUR TEAM DONNELLY IS TOP NOTCH.

FROM MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, HAVING WORKED WITH YOU WITHIN MY DAY JOB.

AND I THINK HAVING THE COMMITTEE IS, IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YELLOWKNIFE PROVIDERS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THEIR VOICE HEARD.

BECAUSE ON MANY FOREFRONTS, WE HAVE HEARD THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS THE BOARD THAT YOU DEAL WITH FROM THE TERRITORIAL LEVEL YELLOWKNIFE WITHIN THE FOOD INDUSTRY, BEVERAGE, RETAIL, WE ALL STILL WANT TO PARTAKE BECAUSE WHAT WE OPERATE HERE IS DIFFERENT FROM THE BEAUFORT DELTA AND SO ON.

AND IN FULL SUPPORT OF THE CITY OF YELLOWKNIFE MAINTAINING RUNNING THE VISITOR CENTER FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS OR UNTIL WE GET MORE DATA BACK.

AND THEN MAYBE ONCE WE GET THAT, THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT PUTTING IT OUT FOR RFP.

SO I WAS VERY PLEASED TO SEE THIS COME FORWARD, AND I'M EXCITED FOR WHAT'S TO UNFOLD IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.

AND HOPEFULLY THIS YEAR WE ALSO HAVE A NORMAL YEAR TO BE ABLE TO GET SOME DECENT FEEDBACK.

MERCI. THANKS FOR THAT. AND JUST BEFORE I FLIP TO COUNCILLOR MCLENNAN, I JUST WANTED TO NOTE WE'VE PASSED OUR 90 MINUTE MARK, BUT IF MY COLLEAGUES AGREE, GET THROUGH THIS ITEM BEFORE WE TAKE A BREAK.

PERFECT. COUNCILMAN MCLENNAN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND THANKS FOR ALL THE WORK FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED.

YEAH. ALSO IN SUPPORT OF CONTRACTING NWT TOURISM AND MAINTAINING VISITOR CENTER AS IT IS.

AND THE RESERVE. SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST WAY FOR NOW.

I WOULD AGREE WITH COUNCILLOR FEQUET IN NOT BEING SUPPORTIVE OF ADDING A COMMITTEE HERE.

YEAH, I THINK IT'S I THINK THROWING COUNCIL IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS DOESN'T ADD VALUE TO JUSTIFY THE, THE WORK IN COORDINATING THE COMMITTEE. I JUST THINK THE STEPS HERE THROWING COUNCIL IN THE MIDDLE.

SO WE'RE ASKING TOURISM OPERATORS TO COME TO ANOTHER MEETING WHERE THEY TELL A COMMITTEE, WHICH TELLS COUNCIL, WHICH TELLS STAFF, WHICH TELLS NWT TOURISM LIKE, LET'S JUST HAVE THEM TALK DIRECTLY.

I THINK I WOULD TRUST NWT TOURISM AND OUR STAFF TO KNOW WHAT THOSE OPERATORS WANT AND TO GIVE US THE FEEDBACK IF SOMETHING ISN'T WORKING AND THAT WE DO NEED TO CHANGE SOMETHING.

YEAH, I AGREE THAT I JUST DON'T SEE THE COMMITTEE ADDING ENOUGH VALUE HERE TO JUSTIFY MORE, MORE WORK AND MORE STEPS. THANKS. THANKS. COUNCILLOR MCLENNAN.

COUNCILLOR MCGURK. YEAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE WORK.

IT'S VERY EXCITING TO FINALLY GET THIS GOING.

I KNOW IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, SO IT'S A LOT OF WORK FOR YOU.

MUST BE NICE. I JUST HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS, JUST OF KIND OF SMALL, TECHNICAL ONE TO START IS WHY WE DECIDED TO GO WITH THE BUSINESS LICENSE REQUIREMENT AND NOT A SPECIFIC SHORT TERM RENTAL LICENSE OR HOWEVER YOU WOULD HAVE FRAMED IT? MR. VAN DINE OR MISS THISTLE? YEAH. YEAH. SO WHEN WE ADOPTED THE CHANGES TO THE BUSINESS LICENSE BYLAW AND THE ZONING BYLAW SHORT TERM RENTAL OPERATORS ARE JUST REQUIRED TO HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSE.

AND THEN IN THE BUSINESS LICENSE BYLAW, THERE'S SPECIFIC CRITERIA THAT HAVE TO MEET TO GET THEIR BUSINESS LICENSE. THEY'RE PRETTY MINIMAL. LIKE YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CONTACT PERSON FOR 24 HOURS A DAY, ETC.. SO THEN THAT JUST MADE SENSE IN OUR REMITTANCE OF HOW WE WOULD IDENTIFY THE BUSINESS.

IT JUST MADE IT EASIER. BUSINESSES LIKE ACCOMMODATION PROVIDERS DON'T HAVE TO FIND A NEW NUMBER OR APPLY TO GET A NEW NUMBER.

THEY JUST WILL ENTER THEIR BUSINESS LICENSE NUMBER AND THAT'LL BE THEIR IDENTIFIER.

AND THAT'S HOW WE'LL CROSS-REFERENCE IT ON THE BACK END FOR FINANCE.

BUT YEAH, IT WAS JUST FOR SIMPLICITY BECAUSE THEY'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSE ANYWAY TO BE OPERATING A BUSINESS IN THE CITY.

SO THEN IT MADE SENSE THAT THAT WAS HOW THEY WOULD DO THEIR REMITTANCE. AND IT ALSO MEANS THAT PEOPLE CAN NOT HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSE AND REMIT LIKE YOU'LL HAVE TO HAVE ACTIVE

[01:40:01]

BUSINESS LICENSE. GREAT. THANK YOU. THAT MAKES SENSE.

I KIND OF FIGURED THAT WAS GOING TO BE THE RESPONSE.

I GUESS IN I'M YEAH, I'M IN GENERAL SUPPORTIVE OF ALL OF THIS AND, AND I THINK I AM ALSO SUPPORTIVE OF THE IDEA OF A ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THAT WAS ONE OF MY QUESTIONS WAS, IS THIS LIKE, WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS? OR WHY WOULD WE WANT TO GO AHEAD AND DO THIS? BECAUSE IT WAS ADDITIONAL WORK FOR THE CITY STILL.

BUT YOU'RE SORT OF COMMENT ON THAT BEING A RESPONSE TO WHAT YOU HEARD FROM OTHER PEOPLE.

TOURISM AND ACCOMMODATION PROVIDERS. IN TERMS OF WANTING A MAYBE AN ADDITIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURE.

BUT I UNDERSTAND IF THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE REQUESTING.

MORE OR LESS. IF WE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE REQUESTING, THEN I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE WHOLE OBJECT OF THIS IS TO SUPPORT THEIR INDUSTRY. SO I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS AROUND IT. IS ARE WE USING THE LEVY TO CONTRIBUTE TO PAYING FOR OUR LIAISON AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FOR THIS COMMITTEE, OR ARE WE CONSIDERING THAT AN OPERATIONAL EXPENSE? AND HAVE WE CONSIDERED THIS BEING A TRIAL COMMITTEE? MAYBE IF THERE'S ENOUGH TRUST THAT IS ACCRUED OVER MAYBE LIKE THE, SAY, THE REST OF OUR PERIOD ON COUNCIL OR TERM ON COUNCIL? YEAH. MISS THISTLE. THANKS FOR THE QUESTION. THE CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES ACT IS THE LEGISLATION THAT DICTATES WHAT THE FUNDS CAN BE USED FOR.

AND IT DOESN'T INCLUDE COSTS, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR A COMMITTEE OF THIS NATURE.

SO IT WOULD BE AN OPERATIONAL COST. WITH RESPECT TO THE DURATION OF THE COMMITTEE, WE DIDN'T PUT A TERMINATION DATE IN BECAUSE WE DON'T FORESEE THE DMO STOPPING AT ANY TIME. I GUESS IF IT WAS AT COUNCIL'S DIRECTION, WE COULD INCLUDE A CLAUSE IF WE ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT FOR NWT TOURISM FOR THREE YEARS, WE COULD, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE COMMITTEE FOR THREE YEARS.

AND THAT WAY KIND OF EVERYTHING WOULD BE REASSESSED AT THE SAME TIME.

THE REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION OF A COMMITTEE.

AND BELIEVE ME, I DON'T WANT ANOTHER COMMITTEE EITHER. BUT THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT.

SAME AS THE ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

IT WAS IMPORTANT. AND IN THIS CASE, WE'VE HAD BUSINESSES HAD TO REVAMP THEIR PAYMENT SYSTEMS TO COLLECT A 4% LEVY.

THEY'LL HAVE TO REMIT IT FOUR TIMES A YEAR. AND THEY REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHY THEY'RE DOING THAT.

AND DONNA LEE IS RIGHT. THEY DO HAVE A LOT OF MEMBERS WHO ARE LOCATED IN YELLOWKNIFE.

AND BUT THEIR BOARD REPRESENTS THE TERRITORY.

AND I CAN TELL YOU THE LAST TIME A BOARD APPOINTMENT CAME UP.

THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE APPLIED FOR ONE SPOT, AND SOME BIG YELLOWKNIFE OPERATORS DIDN'T GET THE POSITION.

SO IT IS THEY'RE WONDERFUL AND THEY DO GREAT WORK, BUT THEY'RE TERRITORIALLY REPRESENTED.

AND REALLY THAT'S WHERE THE COMMITTEE CAME FROM WAS BECAUSE IT'LL BE OUR LOCAL TOURISM INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS, BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST TOUR OPERATORS, IT'S THEIR HOTELS, BIG, SMALL FOOD BEVERAGE.

IT'S KIND OF EVERYONE. AND IT'S THEIR WAY OF HAVING A SAY IN HOW THOSE FUNDS ARE USED BECAUSE THEY'LL GIVE US THEIR ADVICE AND WHERE THEY THINK WE SHOULD BE USING THOSE FUNDS. AND THE REASON COUNCIL IS IN THERE IS BECAUSE THE CITY IS COLLECTING THE MONEY AND THE CITY IS PAYING IT.

SO THE WAY WE LOOK AT IT IS COUNCIL SHOULD HAVE SOME INPUT INTO BLESSING HOW THAT MONEY IS USED OR NOT USED.

SO THAT'S WHY NWT TOURISM REPORTS TO THEIR BOARD.

BUT NWT TOURISM REPORTS TO THEIR NWT TOURISM BOARD, WHICH IS TERRITORIAL.

WE'LL HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THEM TO PROVIDE DESTINATION MARKETING SERVICES, BUT WE WON'T HAVE OUR OWN CITY DMO BOARD BECAUSE THAT'S NOT HOW WE'VE SET IT UP.

SO THAT'S WHY. BUT AGAIN, WE CAN DO IT WITHOUT A COMMITTEE.

IT WAS JUST OUR RECOMMENDATION. SO HAPPY TO, YOU KNOW, TAKE FEEDBACK AND MAKE CHANGES.

BUT THAT'S WHY WE MADE THAT RECOMMENDATION. THANKS FOR THAT.

COUNCILLOR MCGURK. YEAH. THAT'S GREAT. THAT'S I AGREE WITH THAT SORT OF LINE OF THINKING.

AND I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN CONSIDERING THAT THE TERM FOR THE COMMITTEE IS THE SAME AS THE TERM FOR THE DMO.

BECAUSE IF I DO FEEL LIKE IF THERE IS ACTUALLY, SAY, MAYBE THE ACCOMMODATION AND TOURISM PROVIDERS JOIN THIS COMMITTEE AND THEY SAY, OKAY, ACTUALLY THIS IS REDUNDANT, THEN IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE A SIMPLE MECHANISM TO REMOVE THAT.

THANKS VERY MUCH. BEFORE WE GO TO ROUND TWO, JUST MY BIG STICKING POINT HAS BEEN THIS WHOLE COMMITTEE THING TOO, BECAUSE I JUST YEAH, I'M REALLY TRYING TO AVOID THE CITY HAVING TO TAKE ON MORE OPERATIONAL, TRYING TO GET MEMBERS ALL THAT. SO IT MAKES ME A LITTLE HAPPY.

AND WHEN I SAW MS. DEMARCKE'S HEAD NODDING, AS YOU SAID IT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PEOPLE CHOMPING AT THE BIT TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE SORTS OF

[01:45:04]

CONVERSATIONS, THAT EASES ME A BIT. I GUESS MY BIG QUESTION WOULD BE, IS THERE DID WE THINK ABOUT YOU KNOW, JUST DOING LIKE ADVISORY MEETING THE FIRST YEAR OR GETTING AWAY FROM, LIKE THE FORMALITY OF A COMMITTEE RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE, RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE. AND THEN THE OTHER PIECE THAT I HAD AND I JUST STARTED LOOKING. SO YOU'LL PROBABLY HAVE THE ANSWER QUICKER THAN ME, BUT JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE DON'T GET INTO A SITUATION LIKE WE DID WITH THE ADVISORY OR THE ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHERE IT WAS REALLY HARD TO GET PEOPLE ON BOARD AND THEN BECAME WE WEREN'T HAVING MEETINGS OF THAT COMMITTEE BECAUSE WE WERE LOOKING FOR ENOUGH PEOPLE TO HAVE QUORUM, SO MAKING SURE THAT WHATEVER.

I DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME TO QUICKLY READ AS YOU WERE CHATTING THERE. BUT GETTING INTO THE TERMS OF REFERENCE, MAKING SURE THAT WE PICK A DAY. THIS IS THE START.

WHOEVER'S BEEN APPOINTED BY THAT DAY, THE WORK GOES FORWARD BECAUSE I WOULDN'T WANT TO SEE ANYTHING STALLED BECAUSE WE CAN'T GET MEMBERS FOR A COMMITTEE.

SO I GUESS IT'S NOT REALLY A QUESTION. I SUPPOSE IT'S MORE JUST AS BEFORE IT COMES TO COUNCIL.

MAYBE JUST MAKING SURE THAT THOSE PIECES ARE FACTORED IN.

BUT I GUESS THAT'S MY BIG STICKING POINT. I'LL HAVE SOME MORE THINKING TO DO OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS BEFORE IT COMES BACK TO COUNCIL, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE I'M IN THE MINORITY ANYWAY, SO THAT'S EASY ENOUGH. BUT ANYWAY, SO I'LL PASS IT BACK TO COUNCILOR COCHRANE FOR ROUND TWO. AND THANK YOU AGAIN, MR. CHAIR. ON TO THE QUESTION OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

I DO AGREE TO KEEP IT FOR NOW, BEING THAT IT IS SOMETHING THAT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN CREATED DUE TO SIMILAR COUNCILLOR MCGURK BROUGHT IT UP, THE RECOMMENDATIONS BROUGHT FORWARD BY SOME OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS.

THE ONE THING I WOULD ADD THOUGH, IS TO CHANGE SECTION 14 TIMELINE FOR THE WORDING FROM THIS ONGOING COMMITTEE WILL, WITH NO IDENTIFIED TIMELINE FOR THE COMPLETION OF THIS TIME TO THE THREE YEAR THAT WAS SUGGESTED.

BUT INSTEAD OF SAYING TERMINATION LIKE SECTION 15, GO INTO REVIEW OF THE COMMITTEE.

THANK YOU. GOOD POINT. CAN I SEE HEAD NODS IF PEOPLE AGREE WITH THAT? OKAY AGREE WITH THAT? RUN WITH IT. PERFECT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS TO WRAP IT UP? COUNCILLOR WARBURTON. YEAH, I'M ALL FOR LESS COMMITTEES.

IF THERE IS SOME INFORMAL OR OTHER METHOD WE CAN THINK ABOUT BEFORE COUNCIL, THAT'S GREAT.

BUT YEAH, I, I KNOW THAT IF WE DON'T HAVE SOME MECHANISM FOR THESE FOLKS THAT ARE, FRANKLY, SPENDING TIME AND MONEY TO COMPLY WITH A NEW BYLAW, WHICH EVERYONE LOVES, NEW RULES.

IF THEY DON'T HAVE AN ABILITY TO FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE AN INFLECTION POINT ON THAT MONEY, THEY'RE GOING TO BE REALLY PISSED. SO THEY ABSOLUTELY DO NEED TO HAVE SOME MECHANISM BECAUSE TOURISM, LIKE WE SAID, IS TERRITORY WIDE.

AND THERE IS A GENERAL FEELING AMONG OPERATORS IN YELLOWKNIFE THAT IT'S IT DOESN'T REFLECT THEIR NEEDS BECAUSE IT CAN'T.

SO THIS IS HYPER FOCUSED ON US. SO, YEAH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT MECHANISM. THANKS. THANK YOU FOR THAT.

WITH THAT, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S GENERAL SUPPORT FOR ALL OF THE DIFFERENT PIECES.

OH, COUNCILOR PAQUETTE, GO FOR IT. THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT.

SORRY. ARE WE ON ROUND TWO, MR. CHAIR? WE ARE.

FIRE AWAY! OKAY. YEAH. I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR.

JUST SO WE'RE NOT MIXING SEMANTICS. IF NWT TOURISM WANTS THERE TO BE A COMMITTEE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY UNDERSTAND, THE STAKEHOLDERS OR THE TOUR OPERATORS WOULD LIKE, OR A DIRECT VOICE IN MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS.

THAT'S COOL. THAT'S GREAT. I'M NOT THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

MY ISSUE IS WITH THE CURRENT PROPOSED DMAC THAT REPORTS TO CITY COUNCIL.

BECAUSE IT'S BOTH AT THE STRATEGY LEVEL AND ABOUT ADJUSTMENTS TO MARKETING PLANS, WHICH I THINK HAS IS NONE OF COUNCIL'S BUSINESS, NOT TO MENTION, THE ADMINISTRATION OF COORDINATING COMMITTEE MEETING TAKING MINUTES AND WE DON'T NEED ANYTHING THIS FORMAL.

GIVEN COUNCIL'S SEEMINGLY UNANIMOUS CONFIDENCE IN NWT TOURISM AND WILLING TO JUST APPOINT THEM FOR A THREE YEAR CONTRACT TO DO THIS.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE CITY WOULD HAVE A COMMITTEE.

SO TO BE CLEAR, IF THERE'S A COMMITTEE OF STAKEHOLDERS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN CHOMPING AT THE BIT, THERE CAN STILL BE A COMMITTEE AND THERE PROBABLY SHOULD BE BECAUSE NPT TOURISM BOARD IS TERRITORIAL WIDE.

SO TO HAVE A YELLOWKNIFE FOCUS COMMITTEE PROBABLY MAKES SENSE. BUT THAT'S AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO GIVE DIRECT RECOMMENDATIONS TEND TO BE TOURISM AS THEY SEE FIT AND TO DO WITH BECAUSE IF WE'RE TRUSTING THEM WITH THE OUTCOME, WE'RE GIVING THEM MONEY.

THEY NEED TO BE RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE FOR, LIKE IMPLEMENTING ACTUAL MARKETING STRATEGIES AND SERVICES THAT WE WILL THEN DECIDE IF THAT WARRANTS RENEWAL OF THAT CONTRACT OR GOING OUT FOR RFP OR WHAT HAVE YOU.

SO I REALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS COMMITTEE REPORTING TO COUNCIL.

BECAUSE THERE'S OTHER REPORTING MECHANISMS THAT CAN BE USED.

AND I'M NOT AT ALL WORRIED THAT OUR CITIZENS, RESIDENTS AND TOUR OPERATORS WILL NOT BRING ISSUES FORWARD TO US AS COUNCILORS OR ADMINISTRATION IF THERE'S PROBLEMS. SO IF, I MEAN, IF PEOPLE ARE OKAY, I MEAN, I WOULD PREFER TO SEE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS SPLIT INTO SEPARATE MOTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO COUNCIL.

SO THE COMMITTEE, ONE CAN BE SOMETHING SEPARATE BECAUSE I DEFINITELY DON'T WANT TO SLOW DOWN. THE CONTRACT,

[01:50:01]

THE GETTING THE DMO SET UP. I GUESS THE RESERVE BYLAW THAT WE NEED.

BUT THE COMMITTEE IS DEFINITELY. I MEAN, I COULD GO ON FOR LOTS MORE, BUT I'LL.

I'LL STOP THERE. AND BEFORE YOU KEEP GOING. NO, I'M JUST KIDDING.

MR. VAN DINE. YOU CAN ADD TO THAT. YEAH. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I JUST I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER MAYBE SOME SUMMARY POINTS IF I, IF I COULD.

THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION AS DIRECTOR THISTLE HAS POINTED OUT AT THE ONSET.

THERE'S IT'S A BIG PACKAGE FOR COMMITTEE TO OR FOR COUNCIL TO REVIEW AT ONE TIME.

ONE GENERAL POINT THAT I WOULD JUST REMIND COUNCIL TO GO BACK TO DECEMBER 9TH.

THIS IS A GOOD NEWS STORY. THIS IS A VERY POSITIVE EVENT FOR YELLOWKNIFE AND FOR AND FOR THE TERRITORY.

AND IN DECEMBER 9TH, WE WERE SHARED A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION WITH RESPECT TO THE RISING TOURISM NUMBERS COMING BACK FROM THE COVID PERIODS.

AND SO THE ECONOMY IS STARTING TO CHUG IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

AND I THINK WE'RE SEEING SOME POSITIVE RESULTS.

THE OTHER POINT THAT WE HAD DISCUSSED ON DECEMBER 9TH WAS THE FACT THAT WE WERE BREAKING NEW GROUND FOR THE ENTIRE TERRITORY WITH THIS, WITH THIS BYLAW AND THIS APPROACH. SO, LIKE OTHER JURISDICTIONS ACROSS CANADA, WHERE THEY'VE HAD A FAIR AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE WITH THIS INITIATIVE, I THINK VANCOUVER HAS A MULTITUDE OF LEVIES THAT THEY'RE DOING, BUT THEY'RE ALSO VERY SUCCESSFUL IN, IN ATTRACTING PEOPLE TO, TO VANCOUVER. AND WHILE WE'RE NOT VANCOUVER TODAY THIS DOES IS A VERY SMALL STEP TOWARDS MOVING IN THE DIRECTION THAT OTHER SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES AND CITIES ARE PURSUING. SO I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT BACK TO PEOPLE'S ATTENTION.

ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT BEING NEW, THOUGH, IS THAT THERE ARE SOME RISKS AND I BELIEVE WHAT ADMINISTRATION AND KERRY AND HER TEAM HAVE PUT FORWARD IS A IS A VERY PRUDENT APPROACH TO MOVE AT A, AT A REASONABLE PACE THAT ALLOWS US TO BE A BIT DATA DRIVEN IN TERMS OF HOW WE PROCEED WITH THE NEXT STEPS.

SO WE ARE LOOKING AT MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ACKNOWLEDGING WITH A LITTLE BIT OF TREPIDATION, BUT ALSO SOME ENTHUSIASM WITH THE POSSIBILITIES THAT THIS BRINGS.

BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO FULL BORE IN ANY DIRECTION OR TRY AND COMMIT COUNCIL TO SOMETHING THAT IS VERY, VERY NEW. I WOULD JUST REMIND THAT ON THINGS OF GOVERNANCE YELLOWKNIFE.

AND THIS IS A MORE OF A GENERAL COMMENT. WE DO, I BELIEVE, STRUGGLE TO HAVE A CITY OF YELLOWKNIFE VOICE HEARD IN THE COLLECTION OF TERRITORIAL VOICES THAT ARE HAPPENING ACROSS THE WAY AT THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.

AND WITH THE FEEDBACK THAT WE DID RECEIVE THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE DID HEAR QUITE LOUDLY AND CLEARLY THAT THE VOICES OF YELLOWKNIFE SHOULD BE CONTEMPLATED AND CONSIDERED, PARTICULARLY IN A BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AROUND THIS, THIS INITIATIVE.

WE DO OBVIOUSLY WILL DEFER TO COUNCIL IN TERMS OF THEIR PREFERENCES ON COMPOSITION, TIME, DURATION. THOSE ARE ALL EXCELLENT POINTS THAT WE'VE TAKEN ON BOARD TODAY, AND IT IS APPRECIATED.

THE AMOUNT OF TIME COUNCIL HAS PUT INTO DELIBERATING OVER THIS PACKAGE FOR THE LAST PERIOD OF TIME THAT YOU'VE HAD IT AND WE'VE GOT A FEW MORE WEEKS TO GO BEFORE IT GETS CONSIDERED AT COUNCIL, AND WE'LL ALWAYS ACCEPT ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS.

BUT I WOULD LIKE TO JUST CONCLUDE BY SAYING THIS STAGED APPROACH, AND TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THIS NOTION OF AN ADVISORY BODY, IS VERY MUCH MEANT TO RESPOND TO THE FEEDBACK THAT WE DID RECEIVE FROM A VERY ENTHUSIASTIC GROUP OF OPERATORS THAT ARE LOOKING TO SEE THIS RUN AND RUN, RUN FAST. SO THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TO PROVIDE SOME SUMMARY COMMENTS AND TO BUILD ON THE COMMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE SO FAR.

THANK YOU FOR THAT. SO WITH THAT, THERE DOES SEEM TO BE GENERAL SUPPORT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH EVERYTHING.

COUNCILLOR FEQUET YOU HAD REQUESTED THE COMMITTEE PIECE BE SPLIT OFF WHEN IT COMES TO COUNCIL? AM I CORRECT? YEAH, I WAS JUST SUGGESTING OF THE FIVE PIECES OF THE RECOMMENDATION.

MAYBE THEY JUST ARE FIVE QUICK MOTIONS IN THAT WAY, IF ONE DIDN'T PASS, WE WOULDN'T HOLD UP THE REST.

OKAY, SO WE'LL DO THE FOUR AS A CHUNK BECAUSE THERE WAS GENERAL AGREEMENT ALL OVER THAT SPLIT OFF THE COMMITTEE PIECE AND TAKE AWAY THE ADVICE OR THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS RATHER FROM COUNCIL TODAY. AND THAT WILL ALL COME BACK TO COUNCIL ON MAY 12TH, 2025.

SO WITH THAT, WE'LL TAKE OUR TEN MINUTE BREAK.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR BEARING THROUGH THAT. OKAY EVERYBODY, I WILL CALL OUR MEETING BACK TO ORDER.

[6. A discussion regarding vacant land.]

AND NEXT WE HAVE A DISCUSSION REGARDING VACANT LAND.

AND THIS IS AN ITEM FROM COUNCIL. MCLENNAN. SO COUNCILMAN MCLENNAN I WILL PASS IT OVER TO YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE TIME.

SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS IS A MOTION REGARDING COUNCIL TO DIRECT STAFF TO BRING FORWARD A BYLAW CREATING A NEW PROPERTY TAX CLASS FOR VACANT

[01:55:07]

LOTS, OR INCREASING FEES FOR HOLDING SUCH LOTS FOR CONSIDERATION BY COUNCIL IN BUDGET 2026.

THE DESIGN OF THE TAX OR FEE WOULD BE TO PUSH THOSE HOLDING VACANT LAND TO DEVELOP IT, OR SELL IT TO SOMEONE WHO WILL.

WELL, THE TALKS COULD BE FOCUSED OR CITY WIDE, DEPENDING ON THE WILL OF COUNCIL AND ADVICE FROM STAFF.

SO AS WE KNOW, LAND AVAILABILITY IS ONE OF, IF NOT THE BIGGEST, ROADBLOCK TO CREATING MORE HOUSING IN YELLOWKNIFE.

STAFF AND COUNCIL HAVE WORKED IN MANY WAYS TO TRY AND ACCESS MORE LAND FOR HOUSING.

DESPITE THIS EFFORT, THE GNWT IS THE GNWT LAND CLAIMS SEEM NO CLOSER TO BEING SETTLED.

AND WITH THE RECENT COMMUNITY PLAN AMENDMENT, WE HAVE ZONED ALL REMAINING SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF LAND FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.

GIVEN THESE STEPS AND THE DIMINISHING RATE OF RETURN FOR STAFF'S TIME IN THESE AREAS, I BELIEVE WE MUST NOW TURN SOME EFFORT TO PUSHING FOR THE VACANT LAND IN OUR COMMUNITY TO BE UTILIZED. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE PUZZLE IS HALFWAY SOLVED.

WE HAVE ONE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE FOR VACANT LAND AND ANOTHER TARGETING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS FOR REMEDIATION.

THESE ARE IMPORTANT TOOLS. HOWEVER, WE ARE MISSING THE STICK.

INCENTIVES ALONE DO NOT CHANGE THE LANDSCAPE FOR THOSE HOLDING VACANT LAND.

IF WE ARE TO SEE DEVELOPMENT ON MANY OF THE PREMIUM VACANT LOTS WE SEE IN TOWN, WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COST STRUCTURE AND PUSH THOSE HOLDING VACANT LAND TO DEVELOP IT OR SELL IT TO SOMEONE WHO WILL. VACANT LAND TAXES ARE USED ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND ACROSS THE WORLD.

THESE TAXES HAVE BEEN TAILORED FOR SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES FACED BY EACH MUNICIPALITY, AND THIS CAN ALSO BE THE CASE IN YELLOWKNIFE.

FOR EXAMPLE, IN TORONTO AND VANCOUVER, PROPERTY OWNERS MUST DECLARE THE OCCUPANCY STATUS OF RESIDENCES OR HAVE THEM DECLARED VACANT.

THIS PUSHES OWNERS NOT TO LET HOUSING SIT VACANT OR HOLD SEVERAL PROPERTIES FOR THEMSELVES.

IN WHITEHORSE, A BYLAW WAS INTRODUCED LAST YEAR TO ADDRESS THE NUMBER OF VACANT AND DERELICT BUILDINGS IN THE CITY.

THIS BYLAW MANDATES THAT OWNERS OF VACANT BUILDINGS MUST OBTAIN A PERMIT FROM THE CITY AND PAY AN INCREASING FEE YEAR ON YEAR.

IN OUR CASE, THE PRIMARY ISSUE IS EMPTY VACANT LOTS, SOME OF WHICH MAY REQUIRE REMEDIATION.

I BELIEVE WE HAVE WIDE LATITUDE TO TAILOR A VACANT LAND TAX OR FEE TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.

THE PROPERTY ASSESSMENT AND TAXATION ACT SECTION 1501.

MUNICIPAL PROPERTY CLASSES STATES. 1501. THE COUNCIL OF A MUNICIPAL TAXING AUTHORITY MAY, BY BYLAW, ESTABLISH TWO OR MORE CLASSES OF PROPERTY AND DESCRIBE THE KIND OF ASSESSING PROPERTY ASSESSED PROPERTY THAT IS TO COMPRISE EACH CLASS.

I'M NOT A LAWYER. HOWEVER, I DID READ THROUGH ALL ITS REGULATIONS AND THE CTV ACT AND CANNOT FIND ANY STRINGENT LIMITATIONS AS TO HOW WE QUOTE DESCRIBE THE KIND OF ASSESSED PROPERTY. THE CRUX OF THE POLICY, AND WHAT WILL ULTIMATELY DETERMINE ITS EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPACTS IS THE DEFINITION OF VACANT. WHILE I WOULD SUPPORT A DEFINITION THAT ADDRESSED VACANT LOTS CITYWIDE, I UNDERSTAND MY COLLEAGUES MAY DESIRE A MORE TARGETED APPROACH FOCUSED ON DOWNTOWN OR SOME OTHER AREA, OR TO HAVE NO PENALTY AT ALL. MY HOPE FOR THIS DISCUSSION IS TO GET A SENSE OF WHETHER OR NOT COUNCIL AGREES IN PRINCIPLE WITH THE MOTION.

IT WOULD ALSO BE TO OPEN THE FLOOR AND SEEK INPUT FROM FELLOW COUNCILORS AND STAFF.

IF COUNCIL DOES AGREE IN PRINCIPLE, I WOULD SEEK TO TABLE THE DISCUSSION SO THAT WE CAN WORK OUT A WAY FORWARD IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR WORK PLAN DISCUSSION NEXT WEEK.

WITH REGARD TO THE WORK PLAN AND STAFF TIME, I BELIEVE THIS WORK IS IMPORTANT AND SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED.

I COULD PROVIDE SOME SUGGESTIONS NEXT WEEK AS TO HOW TO DO THIS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR EVERYONE FOR CONSIDERING THE PROPOSAL AND I LOOK FORWARD TO QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.

THANK YOU, COUNCILOR MCLENNAN. SO WHEN WE GET TO QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS, JUST REMEMBER ADMIN HASN'T DONE ANY BACK WORK ON THIS.

QUESTIONS ARE FOR COUNCILLOR MCLENNAN. IF ADMIN HAS ANY ANSWERS HE CAN GIVE, GREAT.

JUST FOR THAT ADDITIONAL CONTEXT. SO WITH THAT I SAW COUNCILOR WARBURTON. YOUR HAND WENT UP ALREADY.

SO OVER TO YOU. THANK YOU AND THANKS FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD.

THIS HAS BEEN BACK IN MY BRAIN SINCE WE GOT ON COUNCIL.

YEAH, I WOULD BE IN SUPPORT OF IT GOING FORWARD FOR A BIGGER CONVERSATION, ESPECIALLY WORK PLAN CONVERSATION. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE SOME MORE ABILITY TO ENFORCE SOME STUFF, BUT I DO HAVE SOME POINTS THAT WHEN WE GET INTO THOSE DISCUSSIONS, I WOULD LIKE US TO KIND OF JUST MULL OVER.

IDEALLY IT WOULD BE DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC. WE'RE GOING TO BE THERE'S A LOT OF EMPTY LAND AROUND YELLOWKNIFE, BUT THAT'S REALLY, I THINK, THE BEST BANG FOR BUCK. I WOULD HATE TO DISINCENTIVIZE THE HOUSING OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN BECAUSE DOWNTOWN IS GOING TO BE HIGH DENSITY STUFF, WHICH THIS IS MORE EFFECTIVE WITH, I FEEL, THAN KIND OF LOW DENSITY STUFF AROUND TOWN.

WE GOT TO REMEMBER WE'RE NOT TORONTO OR VANCOUVER.

ANY DAY OF THE WEEK, YOU CAN GO RIGHT NOW AND YOU CAN BUY AN EMPTY LOT DOWNTOWN. THERE'S LOTS FOR SALE. THERE'S LOTS. THERE'S A WHOLE HALF A BLOCK FOR SALE DOWNTOWN. THIS IS NOT HARD TO FIND. THERE'S NO BUYERS. THESE ARE VERY HARD TO PURCHASE.

SO NOT HAVING BIG BUYERS MARKET TO THEN START PUSHING VACANT TAX, WHICH IS TO INCENTIVIZE BUILDING OR SELLING.

I JUST WANT TO REMEMBER THAT AS OF RIGHT NOW, THE SELLING SIDE IS NOT SUPER ATTRACTIVE.

[02:00:01]

SO WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT IS THEN THE ONLY WAY TO SELL IT, IF THERE'S NO BIG MARKET, IS TO BRING YOUR PRICE DOWN.

SO ARE WE, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S FORCING A SALE OF SOMETHING EVENTUALLY, BECAUSE THE TAXES ARE TOO HIGH AND THERE'S NO BUYERS MARKET, THE PRICE GOES DOWN. OUR TAX ASSESSMENT CURRENTLY IS BASED ON MARKET VALUE OF LAND.

I WOULD REALLY WANT TO FLESH OUT THE FULL IMPACT OF IF WE HAVE A NUMBER OF LARGE SUBMARKET SALES, ARE WE GOING TO TAX OUR ENTIRE TAX BASE? THERE'S A SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EFFECTS.

I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE REALLY THINKING ABOUT THAT. WE'RE NOT GOING TO, YOU KNOW, SELL SOME LAND TO GET BUILT, BUT THEN WE'RE GOING TO DECIMATE OUR TAX BASE IN AN AREA OF TOWN AND THEN LOSE A LOT OF ASSESSED VALUE.

SO I DON'T THINK THAT'S POSSIBLE, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE THINKING ABOUT. WE HAVE A VERY, VERY SMALL COMMUNITY TO DEVELOP HERE. THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT BUILD STUFF.

SO I THINK WE HAVE, ALONG WITH OUR INCENTIVES, ALONG WITH POSSIBLY A VACANT LAND TAX.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO REALLY INCUBATE PEOPLE TO BUILD MORE STUFF? BECAUSE THAT'S THE MISSING BIT, TOO. AND ALSO, I COUNCILLOR MCLENNAN IS I'M INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT VACANT MEANS.

THERE'S A LOT OF LARGE COMPANIES DOWN SOUTH AND ENTIRE BUSINESSES THAT ARE DESIGNED TO HELP PROPERTY OWNERS WORK AROUND THESE KIND OF RULES.

SO IF THERE'S A WAY A LARGE CORPORATION CAN REASSESS ALL THEIR PROPERTIES BECAUSE WE'VE DRIVEN THE LAND VALUE DOWN, THEY WILL. IF THERE IS A WAY TO TICK A BOX THAT'S NOT VACANT BY PUTTING A SHED ON, THEY WILL. SO THINKING ABOUT ALL THE WAYS THAT THIS COULD BE WORKED AROUND OR IT MAY NOT WORK.

WHICH MEANS A LOT OF WORK FOR STAFF TO DO THAT, BUT JUST EYES WIDE OPEN WHEN WE DO IT.

YEAH. I'M REALLY KEEN TO SEE KIND OF WHERE THIS GOES.

IT'S A GREAT CONVERSATION. I ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE WE IT TURNS OUT TO BE THE THING WE WANT IT TO DO AND DOESN'T HAVE IMPACTS IN A WAY THAT WE DON'T THINK ABOUT AHEAD OF TIME.

SO THANKS. THANK YOU FOR THAT COUNCILOR WARBURTON COUNCILLOR COCHRANE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CHAIR. AND THANK YOU TO COUNCILLOR MCLENNAN FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD OR FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD IN THE LAST FEW ELECTION CYCLES.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I HEARD AT THE DOOR. IT'S SOMETHING OUR CITIZENS HAVE CONTINUOUSLY THOUGHT AS A PROCESS TO GO FORWARD.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO COUNCILLOR WARBURTON FOR THE FOOD FOR THOUGHT THERE, BECAUSE THERE IS CERTAINLY A LOT TO DISSECT AND TO THINK UPON.

NOT AGAINST DOING IT WITHIN A PROHIBITED ZONE.

MY ONLY QUESTION, BECAUSE I DO REMEMBER HAVING EVEN A CONVERSATION WITH MAYOR ALTY ABOUT THIS, THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME LIABILITY ATTACHED. THAT'S WHY WE WOULD HAVE TO DO IT WITHIN A GENERAL AREA.

SO I WOULD BE INTERESTED FOR THE ADMINISTRATION TO MULL THAT OVER AND HAVE THIS FURTHER CONVERSATION.

AND WITHIN THE PROCESS, I DO SUPPORT TABLING THIS MOTION TILL NOW, SO WE CAN GO THROUGH THE WORK PLAN TO DISCUSS WHAT WOULD HAVE TO COME OFF, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A VERY BIG PROJECT AND I DO NOT WANT TO JUST THROW THIS AT THE ADMINISTRATION WITHOUT THINKING STRATEGICALLY OF WHAT WE CAN PUSH FOR, PUSH BACK INSTEAD OF DOING IT GOING FORWARD WITH THIS. BUT CERTAINLY IN PRINCIPLE, THIS IS SOMETHING I ENTIRELY SUPPORT.

AND AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BRINGING IT FORWARD. THANK YOU.

COUNCILOR COCHRANE, COUNCILLOR FEQUET. TO THE QUESTION ON THE TABLE.

I ABSOLUTELY SUPPORT THIS IN PRINCIPLE AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO DISCUSS IT FURTHER IN NEXT WEEK DURING THE WORK PLAN DISCUSSIONS.

I THINK THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS OR PIECES OF INFORMATION THAT WE NEED ADMIN TO LOOK INTO.

LIKE THE PROS AND CONS OF IS IT A FOCUSED DOWNTOWN OR CITY WIDE TYPE INITIATIVE? THIS IS THE STICK THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLY ON IN OUR TERM.

AND OBVIOUSLY, AS COUNCILLOR WARBURTON SAYS, WE HAVE TO FIND THAT BALANCE BETWEEN MOTIVATING INCENTING WITH THE STICK.

BUT WE NEED TO DO IT FOR SURE. SO I'M ABSOLUTELY IN SUPPORT OF THIS AND LOOKING FORWARD TO TALKING ABOUT IT MORE.

THANK YOU. COUNCILOR ARDEN-SMITH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD.

I DO BELIEVE THIS CONVERSATIONAL PIECE WAS ACTUALLY BROUGHT FORWARD IN THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL.

WE DID HAVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT IT. AND I DO REMEMBER ADMINISTRATION DISCUSSING ON THE WORK.

IT WOULD BE NOT ONLY ON ADMINISTRATION, BUT BEING ABLE TO WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR? WHEN WE'RE. OH, MY GOD, I'M AT LACK OF A WORD HERE.

OH, MY GOODNESS, WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE. RIGHT? RIGHT. BRAIN FART. PARDON? NO. BUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT VACANT LAND AND BEING ABLE TO TRY AND PUSH IT FORWARD YOU KNOW, HAVING MED GO OUT AND, YOU KNOW, DOLING OUT REPERCUSSIONS FOR NOT HAVING THESE PIECES OF LAND DEVELOPED THAT BECAME A DISCUSSION PIECE ON, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MANPOWER TO DO THAT.

AND IT WAS IT WAS A LOT OF ADMINISTRATION THAT WAS BEHIND IT.

AND LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A YEAR AND A HALF LEFT ON OUR PLATE AS IT IS, AND WE HAVE THIS WORK PLAN THAT ADMINISTRATION IS FULL UP.

[02:05:07]

I WOULD BE IN AGREEMENT OF HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS TABLED.

BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A HEFTY WORKLOAD FOR THE NEXT YEAR AND A HALF.

NOT THAT IT'S NOT IMPORTANT. I DO BELIEVE PRETTY MUCH EVERY COUNCIL HAS TOUCHED BASE ON IT BECAUSE IT IS THAT IMPORTANT.

BUT AS KERRY BROUGHT FORWARD, YOU KNOW, WE 2024 HAS BEEN A NORMAL YEAR AND WE NEED TO HAVE MORE NORMAL YEARS SO THAT WE CAN CATCH UP ON THESE WORKLOADS. MASSEY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. COUNCILOR ARDEN-SMITH, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? COUNCILLOR MCGURK. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.

SO I'M IN SUPPORT OF SEEING WHERE THIS GOES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ANYTHING ELSE? NO. OKAY. FOR MYSELF. YEAH. I'M IN SUPPORT OF DISCUSSING THIS AS PART OF THE WORK PLAN AND SEEING AND HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS AND COUNCILLOR MCLENNAN SORT OF TIPPING YOUR HAT TO WHAT YOU WOULD PROPOSE. SO THAT'LL BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION WE HAVE NEXT WEEK.

ONE THING IS, YOU KNOW, COUNCILLOR ARDEN-SMITH JUST MENTIONED MAYBE SOME PAST WORK.

SO IF THERE HAS BEEN ANY PAST WORK, NOT RESHAPING IT AND RE LIKE RE PUSHING IT TO COUNCIL AS PART OF GPC NEXT WEEK AS PART OF THE WORK PLAN.

BUT EVEN JUST IF ADMIN COULD SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH COUNCIL.

ANYTHING THAT HAS BEEN DONE AGAIN, NOT DOING ANYTHING NEW.

SO WITH THAT WE WILL TABLE BOTH ACCEPT THE BOTH ACCEPT THE PREMISE TABLE IT AS WELL.

AND WE'LL KEEP THAT THINKING AS PART OF OUR DISCUSSIONS ON THE WORK PLAN NEXT WEEK. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

NEXT UP WE HAVE A MEMO REGARDING WHETHER TO AWARD THE CONTRACT TO CONSTRUCT LANDFILL CELL THREE TO NWT CONSTRUCTION LIMITED IN THE AMOUNT OF

[7. A memorandum regarding whether to award the contract to construct Landfill Cell 3 to NWT Construction Ltd. in the amount $8,090,917.00 (excluding GST).]

$8,090,917, EXCLUDING GST. MR. VAN DINE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, AND THANKS, COUNCIL, FOR CONSIDERING THIS ITEM TODAY.

THIS IS AN ITEM THAT IS A FORCED EXPENSE THAT WE HAD IDENTIFIED IN OUR BUDGET 2025 PROJECT THAT CAME UP HIGHER THAN ESTIMATED.

IN. AND IT IS A NECESSARY PIECE OF WORK. I BELIEVE THE MEMO LAYS OUT QUITE CLEARLY THE, THE WORK THAT IS BEING DESCRIBED.

AND TODAY WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT COUNCIL MAY HAVE WITH RESPECT TO THE BASKET OF WORK THAT'S BEING PROPOSED.

HOWEVER, THE THIS IS A TIMELY DECISION OR AT LEAST A NECESSARY DECISION THAT WE NEED TO HAVE COUNCIL CONSIDER AT THIS TIME SO THAT WE CAN PROCEED WITH THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED THEREIN. I'LL INVITE MR. GREENCORN TO ADD ANY ADDITIONAL OPENING OVERVIEW REMARKS TO THIS ITEM, AND THEN WE CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT COUNCIL MAY HAVE.

THAT SUMS IT UP QUITE WELL. HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ASIDE FROM THAT.

THANKS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ADMIN. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COUNCILLOR COCHRANE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CHAIR. FULLY SUPPORT THIS GOING FORWARD. THIS JUST SEEMS LIKE BASIC HOUSEKEEPING THAT WE ALREADY AGREED UPON WITHIN THE BUDGET. TAKING A LOOK AT THE MEMO, IT SEEMED WAY ABOVE BOARD WITHIN OUR TENDERING PROCESS.

IT ALL MAKES SENSE TO ME. LET'S GET HER DONE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH COUNCILOR COCHRANE. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COUNCILLOR MCLENNAN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

YEAH, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. I'M JUST LOOKING FOR A COMMENT.

JUST I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE NORTHERN CONTEXT.

WITH REGARD TO CAPITAL PROJECTS INCREASING COSTS POST COVID, ALL THIS STUFF.