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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - After a year of layoffs and a slowing economy, Mayor Gord Van Tighem was at his desk over the holiday season, giving his thoughts to Yellowknifer on the year that was and the year to come.

Yellowknifer: What were some of the City of Yellowknife's biggest accomplishments of 2008?

Mayor Gord Van Tighem: I have a whole list.

The biggest one for the city as a city was the Arctic Winter Games. The guys putting it on in the future (said) we have set the model for everyone else to follow. We had just about 2,000 athletes, 2,600 volunteers - stuff all over the city. It was a busy week.

Yellowknife Mayor Gord Van Tighem reflects on how Yellowknife fared in 2008 - and what may be in store for the city in the year ahead.

Another optimistic thing was the amount of time we had on the federal agenda - meeting with the prime minister, various other ministers, MPs and members of opposition parties. There should be a fairly good knowledge of what's going on up here and how they can help.

YK: On the flipside, what were some of the biggest challenges of 2008?

Van Tighem: I think the biggest challenge in Yellowknife in its history has and continues to be housing. First of all availability and second, affordability.

The government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the diamond mines where the diamond mines have agreed to start to enforce people living here - but they can't live on vacant lots. There needs to be an available housing inventory.

YK: Considering the low number of lot sales for the Niven Lake Phase 7 development, how do you think land development went this year?

Van Tighem: That land was made available at the wrong time of year. Any of the developers or realtors you talk to say in Yellowknife, nothing moves 'til March. The true test of Phase 7 will come March-April. That's when the season starts.

As far as disappointments, Bayview Estates was a challenge. That could have finished two to three years ago. That would have been 92 units picking up the slack.

YK: What are your thoughts on the territorial government's plan for public service board reform?

Van Tighem: I'm still challenged to see how it can work. I'm always challenged by programs that don't start with a consultation. Until you go out and determine expectations, or create them, until you find out what the feeling is on any given situation I think you would be challenged to say: "This is how it's going to be."

YK: What do you foresee for the Yellowknife economy in 2009?

Van Tighem: For me this is still the land of opportunities. I think it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we know we're the place to be and we act like we're the place to be, we will be the place to be. If we say that what's been affecting everybody else is going to get us and we're going to be in trouble, it will.

The key thing is to be prepared as well. I'm quite confident of the financial viability of the city.

YK: What direction do you foresee coming out of the General Plan in 2009?

Van Tighem: The only thing about the General Plan that will be considered or is planned to be considered is the discussion for planning Tin Can Hill. The overall consideration is Yellowknife - either by good fortune or good planning - is extremely sustainable. We're compact and we can't get away from that. We've got to maintain compact development and avoid urban sprawl.

YK: What do you hope will happen to the Robertson Shaft headframe?

Van Tighem: With the Robertson Shaft, there are two things happening right now. One is a life engineering type viability: how much it costs (to refurbish the structure). The other is how we can contribute to any funding that may come with it. How many radio towers can you put on the roof and rent out? Can the rooms in there be used as office rooms? Is there a way that you could have a viewing facility? Those two things have to come together to show we can take it over without cost to the community and away we go.

YK: Will council's recent vote to rezone Tin Can Hill to a no-development zone affect future land development?

Van Tighem: No, I think there's still a lot of discussion and public debate that needs to come forward. Council has given a direction and now that has to go through the process to determine how much and what can happen in there over the long term.

YK: What do you think about the diamond mine layoffs coming in 2009?

Van Tighem: It's one of the facts of life with dealing with that business environment. So far it hasn't had an impact on Yellowknife - not to say that it couldn't depending on how much more occurs - but at this point, in all of the information that I've seen it's been contractors and people from away.