SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - City councillor Bob Brooks says he'll be voting yes for the Con Mine community energy system on Monday while Coun. David Wind says a 'no' vote won't kill the possibility of geothermal heat for Yellowknife.

The two councillors debated the issue in front of close to 50 members of the business and construction community who gathered Tuesday at the Elks Hall.

Brooks reminded the group that a yes vote doesn't mean city administration will immediately borrow the $49 million quoted for the project, but it will allow the city to continue moving forward while also securing a $14.1 million grant from the federal government.

The city needs to prove to the government that it has the funds necessary to move forward with the project by March 31 in order to get the grant.

"Based on everything I've seen, everything I've verified, everything I've discussed, and the many public presentations and questions, on Monday, I'm voting yes," said Brooks.

He told the crowd that the city isn't "reinventing the wheel" with this project, but rather it's proposing to install technology that is already in use across the globe.

During the last meeting with the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, which took place Feb. 15, members of the business community expressed concern that the work for the $60.4 million project would be contracted to companies down south.

In light of this, Brooks brought a motion forward Feb. 28, which passed unanimously, to have administration "endeavour to maximize, to the greatest extent possible, the amount of local and Northern contracting for goods and services purchased" for the project.

"Council received your message loud and clear that you want to maximize community benefit," he said. "We agree."

Wind, the only councillor opposing the project, picked up the other side of the debate, which was organized by the NWT Construction Association and the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce.

He said he isn't against the city exploring the use of geothermal heat, but he is concerned with the process.

"What I really don't care for is the notion that because the federal government has in front of us until the 31st of March a component of the financing that would be necessary to go ahead, that we set aside all of the due diligence that we should be doing before we make that decision whether we should go ahead or not."

He said Brooks, along with the rest of council and administration, is suggesting that everything in the investment analysis report be verified after the referendum, when really it should be done first.

After the debate, Coun. Cory Vanthuyne said the referendum is part of the city's due diligence and he fears if residents vote against the project, it will lose its legs.

Wind said voting 'no' doesn't mean Yellowknife will never see a geothermal energy project, it just asks that the city finish its studies and verifications, answering all of the remaining questions to prove that the project is sound. He said the $14.1 million grant shouldn't be the reason that people vote yes.

"If the geothermal and the district energy system is something that's viable and financially attractive, it will attract backers and it will proceed," he said, pointing out the city can always apply for other types of funding in the future if it misses out on the $14.1 million grant.

"I know one thing, if you vote yes for it (the project), you get that one vote and then even if the due diligence says something that you don't like, you probably won't get another opportunity to say whether this should go ahead," he said.

If completed, the project will heat 39 downtown buildings with a mixture of wood-pellet boilers and heat generated from the earth beneath the now defunct Con Mine.

The idea is to pay back the loans incurred by the project with revenues from energy sales. The city hopes to share the risks of the project with one of the three interested private partners.

The chosen partner would be responsible for designing, building and operating the system for a number of years, so "if they built a lemon, then basically they're going to eat it," said Brooks.

If residents are to vote no, there won't be any money for the city to take to the table for negotiations with a partner, said Brooks.

Wind disagreed, pointing out the city will still have the potential market and the location.

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