Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 12/99) - More green space or a new arena? Ski trails or ball parks? Maybe all of the above.

The city of Yellowknife, over the next four months, has embarked on a Recreation Facilities Needs Assessment.

A public consultation meeting to discuss direction and focus of the project, Wednesday night, had two members of the public attend.

That may be because of short notice. Radio advertisements ran during the week on CJCD and CBC and one ad ran in the Yellowknifer the same day as the meeting.

Mayor Dave Lovell, who was at the meeting with city councillors Robert Slaven and Ben McDonald, said the near empty room gave him a sense of "deja vu." It reminded him of the arena meetings of two years ago.

"Why we're doing these public meetings is to provide people with the opportunity to input on major questions affecting our community," Lovell said.

"Two years ago, we had the same problem with very few members of the public turning out. Then, when (the arena) became a big issue, everyone said we didn't consult."

Lovell added if he finds out adequate advertising wasn't done, he would consider scheduling the meeting again.

Even though the room was practically empty, a presentation by CDC Recreation Inc. consultant, Bob Yates, went ahead. CDC Recreation was obtained by the city to undertake the study.

Yates covered issues like facility conditions, recreation trends and what may be needed in youth and outdoor facilities in the near future. "Our job is to provide a list of what facilities are needed," Yates said.

"But it's impossible to look at facilities without looking at programs and opportunities that those facilities make possible."

Fraser Weir, a member of public, questioned Yates on the feasibility of conducting a recreation study now.

"Seriously speaking, when you're looking at two major operations folding (Con and Giant Mines), how can the city even be contemplating using taxpayer money to fund recreational activities?" he asked.

"We live in one of the greatest outdoor wilderness areas in the world. Maybe we should be looking at winding down recreational expenditures and getting more creative."

City of Yellowknife director of community services, Grant White, said the assessment takes into consideration the maintenance and improvement of quality of life in Yellowknife.

"We have more than 70 organizations involved in leisure pursuits so we're looking at putting an (assessment) plan together that will address their needs," White said.

"We're trying to make sure that the programs drive the needs of the facilities."

The next step will be a comprehensive survey asking residents for their opinion. The survey will be mailed to every home in Yellowknife in about three weeks.