"It's a write-off," said Yellowknife Mayor Dave Lovell. "What are you going to do? We could throw them into bankruptcy and we wouldn't get anything, or you can make the best deal you can."

According to the new deal, Tuaro will pay $250,000 for land, buildings and equipment. It should have paid about $500,000 in total, according to the last agreement with the city.

When added to $20,000 the dairy is paying to salvage the old curling rink and $40,000 in payments already made on its lease, Tuaro still comes up almost $200,000 short of its debt to the city.

The city bought the dairy and its 17 acres of property in 1989 for $325,000 and then leased it to Tuaro. Since then the city has collected $106,450 in taxes and last year it recouped $95,000 on the sale of four acres to another party.

Former alderman John Dalton, who crafted the lease deal, said it is a mistake to forgive Tuaro anything.

"The agreement we made back then did not forgive them any of their past debts," said Dalton. "This deal doesn't have anything that makes them accountable to that extent."

Deal all but done

This latest deal, the city's third with Tuaro Dairy, is awaiting a rubber stamp from council.

According to a city hall official, the sale of six acres, buildings and equipment to the dairy was signed after a hastily called noon meeting of council last Friday.

At the meeting, council gave first reading to a bylaw authorizing the sale. The city's commitment depends on council's final approval.

Five people spoke to council at the meeting. All but one of them, the Tuaro farmer who proposed the deal, criticized the agreement.

Both Lovell and city clerk Brian Chambers said no public hearing is required.

"If we had a legal description of it, it would have been sold by now," said Lovell. "The legal requirements are more than satisfied on this one."

Lovell said public hearings are required for zoning changes but not sale of city land.

The Cities, Towns and Villages Act, however, says otherwise.

Before third reading of a bylaw authorizing the sale of municipal land, the city must give at least two weeks notice of the proposed bylaw and "hear any person ... who claims to be affected by the bylaw or who wishes to be heard," the act states.