SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Many city councillors were shocked and disappointed Monday night when residents voted no in the city's referendum.

Yellowknifers were asked to give the city permission to borrow up to $49 million to move ahead with the Con Mine community energy project.

Dennis Marchiori, director of public safety, writes the final tally of the Con Mine community energy system referendum Monday night. The city asked residents for permission to borrow up to $49 million for the project. Residents said "no." - Nicole Veerman/NNSL photo

After nine hours of polling, 1,362 residents voted no, while 997 voted yes.

Four councillors, various members of city administration and the mayor were at city hall watching as the results came in.

City councillor Cory Vanthuyne said he was surprised.

"My belief to this point was that the 'yes' vote was very co-ordinated and very organized and it seemed as though, with the discussion that I was having with most citizens on the streets, that probably four out of every five were telling me that they were in favour of the project moving forward.

"So naturally it's a little bit discouraging to see that it turned out to be more of a 'no' vote."

While waiting on the last poll to come in, Vanthuyne did the math.

"We need at least 300 votes just to tie," he noted, pointing out each box contained an average of 300 ballots.

In the end, the city's bid to borrow up to $49 million for the project was rejected by 365 votes. Vanthuyne said if there is anything positive to gain from the results, it's the level of public engagement.

The referendum attracted 2,359 people - 35 per cent of eligible voters. Coun. David Wind, who has been skeptical of the city's approach to the project, said he was pleased people took the time to consider the issue.

Wind advised members of the construction and business community at a meeting last week that a 'no' vote doesn't mean the project won't go ahead at a later date, it just means that there will be more time for the city to answer all of the unanswered questions.

The city needs to do its homework to determine if the project is in fact viable, said Wind. And if viable, then create a "solid business case and a well-defined project."

The project would use wood-pellet boilers and possibly geothermal warmth from beneath the now-defunct Con Mine to heat 39 downtown buildings.

Had the referendum ended with a 'yes' vote, the city would have received a $14.1 million grant from the federal government to go toward the geothermal portion of the project.

Coun. Lydia Bardak said it's a shame that the vote went the way it did.

"What a big loss to the community because of the incredible opportunity to access $14 million of federal money that may not be available ever again," she said.

Bardak and Vanthuyne said the city will now regroup and re-evaluate the project.

"I think everybody here is going to want to take a little time and reassess what opportunities we might have, if any," said Vanthuyne.

"We'll certainly want to learn from the citizens, as they've spoken today, as to what steps they might want us to take."

Future options include abandoning the project altogether, offering the opportunity to operate the system to the private sector, and reviewing options and interest from other levels of government.

Bob Long, the city's senior administrator, stated in a press release after the vote that he believed residents had all the information needed to make an informed decision.

"We only hope that this outcome truly represents the desire of the whole community," he said.

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