It's not always a question of if you build it will they come, but in the city's case, if you build it, can the city afford to operate it?

In the case of a proposed dock on the waterfront, the city isn't ruling out the possibility of an operating agreement with the territory.

At a noon meeting Wednesday, council officials told Pat Molloy, acting assistant deputy minister of the territory's community development division, they would be willing to have further discussions on the potential operation of the proposed dock with the territory.

"Obviously, operation (cost) is a concern for council," Mayor Bev Buckway said, noting, however, that the issue is worthy of further discussion with the territory.

In an interview after the meeting, Buckway said any discussions on the possibility of the city operating the dock would likely be "fairly hefty".

The entire wharf project is falling under the territory, with the Yukon government set to maintain much of the improvements built on its property.

However, Molloy said the dock could end up in the city's care, or perhaps under an operating agreement with the Yukon government.

The dock, he said, is an option that could be included in the wharf plans depending on the operational arrangement. Alternatively, the wharf could be built in a way that would allow for a dock to be added on later.

Having a dock downtown could open up opportunities, Buckway said, suggesting a small business could spring up that takes tourists out for wildlife viewing opportunities in the city.

"We haven't capitalized on the opportunities there," she said.

Molloy was on hand to present council and senior management with an update on the proposed wharf for the city. The most current draft, by EBA Engineering, came out of public consultation last year.

The city currently spends $5,000 each year on its two floating docks in Chadburn and Schwatka Lakes, including putting the docks in and taking them out every year.

That equates to about three staffers working half a day on it at the beginning and end of the season. There is also ongoing maintenance through the summer, parks and recreation project manager Doug Hnatiuk said Thursday.

At 15 metres (50 feet) long, the 1.5-metre (five-foot) wide portions of the dock, come in three-metre (10-foot) sections that are connected by brackets.

While the city knows how much it spends on those docks, Hnatiuk said it's still too early to say how much it would cost to operate one on the waterfront.

It would depend on what type of dock was put in, the size and so on.

As Hnatiuk pointed out at Wednesday's meeting as well, a downtown dock would be more visible and could be subject to increased vandalism, an issue the parks department already has to deal with at its more remote docks.

While Molloy suggested the possibility of a funding arrangement considered on a year-by-year basis, Coun. Doug Graham was quick to argue that it's not so easy to opt out of funding anything once the city has funded its operation.

EBA Engineering was awarded the $200,000 contract to design the waterfront wharf last year, with the entire project expected to cost about $2 million.

More than $18 million is expected to be spent on the overall redevelopment of the downtown waterfront with money coming from the territory and federal Canadian Strategic Infrastructure Fund. A total of $22 million was approved for work on both the Carcross and Whitehorse waterfronts.

The 630.67-metre-long floating dock is proposed to sit in front of the 744.1-square-metre wharf on the waterfront between Main and Steele Streets.

A ramp to a new trail and the trolley line would extend from near the flagpole closer to the Main Street side of the wharf.

Next to the ramp, closer to the Steele Street side, would be an amphitheatre between the wharf and trail. There would also be a a viewing dock extended from the new trail, green areas between the trolley line and First Avenue and other features.

While EBA began working on the most recent plans last year, its planners were able to dig out diagrams from 1986, when a plan for the Whitehorse waterfront was proposed then.

"It's been 23 years now, and hopefully in (year 24), we'll have a wharf," Molloy told the city.

Coun. Dave Stockdale asked how the proposal would translate into revenue for the city. Molloy suggested the improvements are more of an enhancement that would keep people downtown.

Molloy questioned Stockdale and Buckway on what their second priority for any additional funds. Both favoured washrooms at Rotary Peace Park.

While the porta-potties there have served the city well, Buckway said she would rather see permanent, environmentally-friendly washrooms provided in the park that's used increasingly for its activities that include the water park, a playground and beach volleyball.

Mobile vendors are also in the park through the summer and Buckway noted washrooms there would also serve those using the Millennium Trail.

It's not fair to have people at the park going into downtown business to use their washrooms, council was told.

Though both council members voiced their support for new washrooms at Rotary Peace Park, the city will come up with a more formal "wish list" for second priorities on the waterfront that will be forwarded to Molloy for further discussions.

Councillors Dave Austin, Jeanine Myhre and Jan Stick were absent from the noon meeting.