SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The city is still taking steps to move the Con Mine community energy system forward with private partners after a referendum asking residents for permission to borrow up to $49 million for the project was voted down last month.

The next step after the referendum was to sign a memorandum of understanding with a private partner. That is still the case, and all three companies who submitted proposals are still interested in the project, said city councillor Bob Brooks.

"I'm absolutely positive that the partners are still interested in talking about what kind of role they can do," he said Wednesday. "We're still talking with them and we're just finalizing some of the other due diligence we were going to do."

Brooks said an announcement should be made by mid-May about the state of negotiations between the city and the three interested private partners.

The proposed system, if completed, would heat 39 downtown buildings with a mixture of wood pellet boilers and geothermal heat from beneath the now-defunct Con Mine.

The "no" vote from residents on March 14 means the project won't be run by the municipality, but can still be more of a private venture, he said.

"The vote against us merely gave us less options," he said. "Not having the ability to (have) any equity position lowers the viability chances, but (the project is) by no means dead at this point."

On the original timeline set out by the city, after a memorandum of understanding was signed between the city and a partner, the two parties would verify all of the assumptions made in the business case.

Brooks said because the city didn't get the OK to borrow up to $49 million to help fund the project, the fact-checking will fall mostly on the shoulders of the chosen private partner.

"There's still lots of work to do and milestones to go, but I believe that the business case shows that it still continues to be very viable option to at least go to the next step.

"I'm hopeful it could still go ahead if things fall into place properly," said Brooks.

Coun. Mark Heyck said he's also hopeful.

Although there isn't a new timeline set out for the project, he said discussions are still ongoing.

"Hopefully we should know in the next couple of months what the project will look like at the end of the day, if it goes forward," he said.

The referendum last month was held to ask residents permission to borrow funds to move forward with the project and to secure a $14 million grant from the federal government. In order to receive the grant, the city needed to prove it had the capability of financing the project before March 31.

Brooks said although the city lost the chance to collect the $14 million, there are plans to talk with the federal government after the May 2 election to see if there are any other funding opportunities for the project.

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