SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The mayor talked about plans for the future in his speech where he announced he would be seeking another term during a luncheon on Monday.
Mayor Mark Heyck speaks at the annual state of the city address at the Explorer Hotel on June 15. The mayor did announce he would be seeking re-election. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo |
"It's been an honour and privilege to serve as your mayor for the past three years, and I'm very much looking forward to seeking re-election in the fall," said Mark Heyck, smiling during the event at the Explorer Hotel organized by the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce and the city.
When asked by Yellowknifer why the business community should vote for him in the next election, Heyck responded that his work has helped build a strong foundation for more economic development in the city over the next several years.
"A lot of what we've started now will permeate through my campaign platform and into the next term of office," he said.
The mayor said his work on business incubation will be an important component for how the city will support the community in the future. He also reiterated that while diversification of the economy was important through industries like tourism, the city's economic development strategy would also lead to an analysis of where the gaps are in services and supplies to the mining industry "so that we can hopefully encourage those gaps to be filled to capture more of that economic benefit in the city," he said.
On the subjects of downtown revitalization and business improvement districts, Heyck said the latter concept was definitely gaining more traction.
"Whether they pursue it or not, that's decision for business owners in any particular part of the city, not the City of Yellowknife itself," he said.
The mayor also talked about housing, saying a steady supply was crucial to businesses setting up in town.
"I think we've been relatively successful," he said, "In the last three years, I can point to a complete range of housing options and that's helped to mitigate the cost of housing to a considerable degree."
As for tourism, the mayor said the sector didn't have a lot invested in it and said it was in need of more resources despite its remarkable growth in the last few years. He emphasized the need to research the creation of a city-specific destination marketing organization separate from NWT Tourism and what that might look like.
"That is something I am firmly in favour of establishing," he said, noting the past success of attracting conferences and other national organizations to the city as well as the additional spending power of those business travellers over recreational tourists. "I think having that type of infrastructure in Yellowknife and ensuring we're investing in it on an ongoing basis could pay huge dividends to the local economy," he said.
