DAWSON CITY A packed council chamber burst into applause Monday evening as each member of Dawson's newly-elected city council was introduced to the public by trustee Leo Chasse. Each one took his or her place at the council table.

The last time a swearing-in ceremony took place was on Nov. 10, 2003. Six months later, the town was facing bankruptcy and the council was removed by the Yukon government (YTG).

Two years and two months later, after two trustees, seven committee members and a lot of pressure from the town's citizens and other communities (through the Association of Yukon Communities), Dawson held new elections on June 15.

The new council, consisting of Mayor John Steins and councillors Diana Andrews, Ashley Doiron, Ed Kormendy and Adam Morrison, signed the oath of office as administered by notary public Rhonda Taylor.

The 60 or so people crowded into the council chambers alternately applauded and laughed as each new council member signed the papers.

Community Services Minister Glenn Hart pronounced this 'a happy day for all of us, especially me' as he began his address to the new council.

He praised everyone who had run for office and offered the government's best wishes to those who were elected.

'Each of you has an individual strength and hopefully you can work together and co-operate and develop a relationship with yourselves and the Yukon government and we can work together to smooth over the future and improve the situation for Dawson.'

There was some banter between Steins and Hart, who noted the former had been 'a little vocal' in his comments about the government's handling of Dawson affairs since April 2003.

'Oh, you noticed,' shot back Steins, the host of the cityofdawson.com discussion forum.

Hart continued, 'I appreciate that you've stepped up to the plate when the call for leadership was put out. I have no doubt that you will bring that same energy to the new mayor's office.

'The elected councillors represent a good cross-section of the community and I trust that ... the concerns and views of all the community will be represented.'

Hart extended his thanks to the two trustees, Chasse and Ray Hayes (who was also present) for their work on behalf of the town and the government.

He also thanked the current members of the advisory committee Bill Bowie, John Wierda, Corrine Gaudet, Helmut Schoener and Frank Narozny and presented each with a special Yukon pen as a momento.

'I believe that the advisory committee was an important element to assist these two gentlemen in getting the job done while we (the government) were working on the new financial plan for the City of Dawson.'

He also made special mention of acting city manager David Skidd, who served during the first six months, and for Paul Moore, who took over the job just over a year ago.

'Looking forward, I want to assure you that we support local government,' said the minister.

'We believe in and support Dawson's desire for locally-elected representatives and we want this town to succeed at every level possible. Our government will do everything we can to ensure that it happens.'

Among the challenges facing the town, Hart said, remain the need for tight and effective budgeting and a process to heal the rifts that personality politics have created here.

YTG has already identified $1.5 million in special infrastructure funding for the town. Part of the purpose of this visit was to have YTG staff consult with Dawson's staff on how best to spend that money.

Hart indicated that YTG has approved some funding for minor renovations on the Art and Margaret Fry Recreation Centre if the new council wishes to proceed with that.

Tomorrow in Whitehorse, YTG lawyers will stand with Dawson's lawyers before territorial court Judge Heino Lilles to explain what progress has been made in meeting his December 2008 deadline for a solution to the secondary sewage treatment issue.

Said Hart: 'We will be taking the lead on the sewage project and we will continue to work towards an affordable and sustainable solution on that long standing issue.'

Hart then presented Steins with a key to the city, a symbol of the 'trust, freedom, and responsibility.'

Steins who was acclaimed as mayor took the podium to reply to the minister.

'Thanks for coming up for this momentous occasion. I'm feeling like Dawson City is embarking on a whole new era. As everyone obviously knows, the past two years have been very, very difficult and ... there's one of us, at least, who has made quite a bit of noise about that. I won't say who.'

The new mayor said he is looking at the council 'and I'm just absolutely thrilled with the way our citizens selected during the elections. I think we have a great talent pool that will move this town forward.'

Steins said he believes the issues of the past could comfortably stay in the past, except for lessons which might be learned from them.

'I think I can speak for council when I say that we're looking forward to working with minister Hart, his department, and other parts of the government.

'I think our main goal here is going to be to heal any rifts in town and move our town forward and advance our issues and our interests.'

Steins thanked the government for both the election and the financial package as well as taking over the burden of the sewage issue.

'I think Dawson is headed for a great time. I think the next three years are going to be very exciting.'

In an ironic touch, as the ceremony ended, Hart received a gift from the new mayor. Unbeknownst to either of them, the contents of the gift-wrapped box turned out to be a matched set of beer glasses, often known as steins.

None of the staff who purchased and wrapped the mugs would admit to having realized the joke.