SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - City council discussed the long-anticipated development of Twin Pine Hill on Monday after the new development plan, which includes a hotel, moved the facility near the base of the hill.

By bringing the development closer to the base of the hill, the financial and environmental cost of blasting for the development will be mitigated, according to Jeff Humble, director of planning and lands.

"This is a much improved plan," Humble said. "This is now a feasible project."

The city sold two lots straddling the summit of Twin Pine Hill to Yellowknife River Resorts in 2007, which was bought out a year later by the Yellowknives Dene-owned Deton'Cho Development Corporation and its partner NewNorth Projects Ltd.

The new development plan will require a land-swap between the city and the developers.

As part of the purchase agreement with the city, the developer must pay the city $50,000 for the extra land it will obtain in the exchange, which the city has committed to using to beautify city-owned lands surrounding the development.

According to Mayor Gord Van Tighem, 60 per cent of the developed area will be a public park.

After the city's first reading of the bylaw next Monday, the developer will be required to seek the public's opinion on the matter.

Liquor offences down from 2009: RCMP

The number of liquor related offences in the city have "dramatically decreased," Insp. David Elliot told the city during his monthly update on crime statistics.

While the RCMP dealt with 1,207 offences by this time in 2009, there have been only 934 so far this year - a difference of 273 occurrences.

While the numbers look positive, Elliot said there are factors behind the numbers to consider.

"A lot of that stuff is enforcement driven," he said. "So if there's an increase there that doesn't necessarily mean there's more. It just means that we have been catching more people."

He told the committee because of the way the RCMP keep statistics, all complaints count toward the total number of occurrences in the city, this includes complaints that turn out to be unfounded.

City talks ups and downs of buying government wharf

The city discussed the idea of purchasing the government wharf for $1 from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans at a committee meeting on Monday.

City administrator Robert Long said in his experience, acquiring the wharf could mean more efficient management of the property, which might mean better parking.

According to Mayor Gord Van Tighem, Long has "personal experience taking over harbours."

While Coun. David Wind said he supports public waterfront access in Yellowknife, he asked administration what would change if the city purchased the land from Fisheries and Oceans.

Long said in his experience, once the federal government has offered land to the other government bodies and finds no takers, the property might then be opened up to private buyers, who might not have the same interest in preserving public access to the waterfront.

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