SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - City council voted on Monday to exempt the Yellowknife Community Garden Collective from property taxes from now on.

Council also voted to give the organization a grant to pay for the 2010 taxes for which it was unexpectedly charged late last year.

The sole detractor for the tax exemption vote was city councillor David Wind, though he voted in favour of giving the collective a grant to pay for about $3,000 in 2010 taxes because it had been informally exempt for over a decade.

"The city was remiss in communicating this information (that the collective were being taxed) in a timely and sensitive way," said Wind.

Coun. Bob Brooks cited the same reason for why he is now supporting the collective's tax exemption.

"Last week I gave some representation on why I was not in favour of the proposed bylaw - since that time I was able to gather more information," said Brooks during the meeting.

"In effect we've been giving this organization tax exempt status for the last 10 years," said Brooks, adding that this vote is now just formalizing what has already been going on.

Though he recognizes the collective's history of tax exemptions, Wind said he does not see how the it provides more of a community service than other organizations that are not tax exempt. Examples he gave were the Yellowknife Seniors' Society, which manages the Baker Community Centre that provides recreation and social activities for senior citizens; and the Yellowknife Association for Community Living, an organization that supports people with intellectual disabilities so they are able to contribute to the community.

"Shouldn't these organizations also be exempt from taxes?" asked Wind.

Coun. Paul Falvo said because the gardens are accessed by so many people in the community it was a good reason to support it as a community service through tax exemption. Coun. Lydia Bardak said if the collective were to use special grants to pay its taxes, as Brooks had previously suggested, it would not be able to use those grants for other special projects it might undertake in the community.

Speaking on behalf of the collective, a group comprising more than 120 people, Dwayne Wohlgemuth said he was happy at the show of community support. Councillors who spoke during the meeting all cited the huge influx of e-mails from residents, both gardeners and non-gardeners.

Wohlgemuth said the collective will be looking at expanding in the future to new areas of town so more people can garden. Though there won't be any expansions this year, Wohlgemuth said the board is looking at possibly setting up a garden in the Niven Lake area.

Existing plots are located along School Draw Avenue and at the corner of Kam Lake Road and Woolgar Avenue.

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