Arguing the city has to be vigilant in how it disperses its cash, Coun. Dave Stockdale became the only council member Monday night to vote against handing out $24,200 in Environmental Grants to three organizations.

He took no issue with giving the Raven Recycling Society $18,500 toward its purchase of a $40,000 compacting machine for styrofoam.

However, he did not believe the Science Adventures camp for girls should receive $1,500 for instructor fees, materials and advertising.

Stockdale also opposed the proposal by the Recreation and Parks Association Yukon (RPAY) to bring in an Outside trainer from Vancouver for its Cycle Smart for Yukon Kids program, which received $4,200.

"I guess I'm being mean tonight,” a feisty Stockdale said after noting his opposition to the grants.

Earlier in the evening, Stockdale had voted against moving ahead with first reading for the rezoning of a Riverdale property.

In this case, Stockdale pointed out, the staff report about the three applications notes the theme of space for the girls' science camp has a "somewhat low relevance” to the Whitehorse environment.

The report also stated though that the project has "some merit,” and listed its goals as "to empower and support girls through science education.”

He said approving that application would just open the door to other groups seeking funding from the city for projects with little relevance to the grant.

He quipped that Coun. John Streicker would likely have some sort of explanation as to how space is connected.

However, when Streicker began offering an explanation, Stockdale quickly said the new councillor didn't have to go into an explanation.

Streicker opted to continue anyway. It was the space exploration program that instigated the environmental movement, he said, so the two are tied.

Streicker also noted that he too had concerns with the science camp being funded after he was approached about it only being offered to girls.

As he looked into the issues, he learned the number of girls in the academic fields of science and math is about 25 per cent lower than the boys' number, and is continuing to drop.

He said he spoke with representatives at the Yukon Human Right Commission. He was informed if there is an historical issue – in this case, a lower percentage of girls participating in science programs – then it's not a human rights issue to do something to bring those numbers up.

On the RPAY program, Linda Rapp, the city's acting director of community and recreation services, noted the city's bylaw education constable will participate in the training offered as part of the program and will get certification on the program.

She explained that while there are local residents who have also taken training, they are not available to offer the program.

Having a bylaw officer do the training and get the certification could lead to future co-operative efforts between RPAY and the city, Rapp noted.

Stockdale wasn't convinced. He continued to voice his opposition to the two projects as he became the lone vote against allotting the $24,200 to the three projects.

As Coun. Kirk Cameron argued before he raised his hand in favour of the grants, the funding recognizes there is value in grants. The city has three qualified staffers who reviewed the projects to ensure they meet the city's criteria for environmental grants, Cameron noted.

Each group applied for more funding then they were granted – Raven sought $20,000, while RPAY asked for $5,000 and Science Adventures wanted $2,500.

However, the amounts for the grants were all brought down to meet the $24,200 budget.

Given that the projects were all found to meet the criteria for the grant and brought within the budget, Cameron said he saw no reason not to vote in favour of doling out the grants.