City council will meet later this week to discuss the latest request of $200,000 to help get the Mount Sima ski and snowboard facility operating this winter.

Lorie Henderson, a Friends of Mount Sima member, brought forward the request at Monday evening's council meeting.

She pointed to the support that has come from the community in the form of 710 pledges to purchase a season's pass, along with more donations and sponsorship commitments.

The Friends of Sima formed earlier this year with the goal of reopening the hill – which was shut down in July by the Great Northern Ski Society (GNSS) amid financial issues – and coming up with a new governance structure.

The GNSS has operated the hill since it opened in 1993, though the make-up of the board has changed over the years.

The GNSS voted to dissolve earlier this year when it was not given government funding to keep the hill going. In order to dissolve, the board must first clear off its debts.

It has an agreement-in-principle that would allow the new Friends of Sima group to run the hill this winter. The new organization has been working on raising cash through the pledge program, offering season passes at a reduced rate if the hill reopens.

At Monday's meeting, Henderson pointed to the public support shown through the pledge program, noting there were just a little more than 200 season passes sold last year.

She then made the request for the $200,000 in funding, including $100,000 in immediate cash with the balance provided in a few weeks.

The group is also asking for a commitment to run the Snowbus to and from the hill through the winter and to enter discussions for long-term funding.

This latest request follows numerous requests which have come to assist in the hill's operation, initially from the GNSS when its financial issues came to the forefront in the spring.

With various scenarios, the asks have come in at $400,000, more than $600,000 and so on, depending on the circumstances at the time.

The city initially turned down the call from the GNSS to help keep the hill going.

Eventually, however, it put in close to $200,000 to pay off the debt on the chairlift so it wouldn't be sold off.

The territorial government also committed to providing close to $200,000 – originally earmarking the money for the purchase of the lift should the hill reopen in the winter.

Once the city offered to pay for the lift, it proposed putting the cash toward paying off local creditors for the debt the society racked up.

On Monday, council voted in favour of the contribution agreement which will see the city get the cash to then pay off the debts.

The territory is providing the money to the city as the land owner of Mount Sima.

Coun. Dave Stockdale had suggested the city try to negotiate the debts down to a certain percentage on the dollar.

Other council members, however, spoke out against the deal.

Coun. John Streicker argued the city could be perceived as pocketing the money intended for paying creditors.

Mayor Dan Curtis, meanwhile, commented it's important the local creditors get paid back what they're owed.

"We're ecstatic that local creditors are being paid,” he said, stressing that it's the Yukon government paying off the debts, not the city, which is merely facilitating the pay back.

Rob Fendrick, the city's director of corporate services, said the city has seen the detailed list of the $254,000 which was owed as of Aug. 1.

That includes money owed both locally and Outside from both the winter and the short-lived (in 2012 and until it closed on July 2, 2013) summer operations.

Fendrick said city staff would be working on sorting out the exact details of the repayments and where certain amounts would go following council's decision to move ahead with the contribution agreement.

Sima officials also learned Monday that the territory will contribute another $55,000 to help out with debts.

It will do so by purchasing a groomer the GNSS had listed for sale and by providing matching funds for the pledge program to the tune of $70,000 for this season, $50,000 for 2014/15 and $30,000 for 2015/16.

The funds are contingent on the Friends of Sima becoming a registered society and the city providing cash as well.

The news came in the form of a letter from Community Services Minister Brad Cathers sent to the Friends of Sima, the ski society, Yukon MP Ryan Leef, the city and the local media.

"The Yukon government does not provide direct operational funding for municipal facilities, and we are of the opinion that success or failure of the ski hill will depend in part on the willingness of the City of Whitehorse to provide a portion of the operational funding at Mt. Sima as it does for other municipally-owned sports facilities,” it's stated. (See Cathers' entire letter, p. 7.)

Sima supporters have continually pointed to the Canada Games Centre (CGC) as an example of the city funding sports facilities.

Council members have also been quick to note that the recreation centre is owned by the city. (While the city now owns the chairlift and the land at Mount Sima, the hill only reverts back to the city if the lease for the land is broken.)

Mayor Dan Curtis pointed out Monday that the CGC has about 3,000 people on average taking part in activities every day.

Having just received the letter from Cathers, Henderson said the group would have to look at exactly what it means for them.

There are some questions that need to be answered, she noted, though clearly the commitment will help the cause.

She pointed out that the city has a goal of 50 per cent recovery on its facilities.

The Friends Of Sima are asking for approximately 20 per cent of what it costs to co-operate.

Stockdale asked her for her reaction if the city agreed only with the $100,000 contribution request.

Henderson replied, "‘Crushed' is the word that comes to mind,” noting the group has worked to get the budget as bare bones as it can while still ensuring the hill is safe for skiers and snowboarders.

Among the cost-cutting measures, Sima would be closed on Mondays in the coming year.

It's projecting a 68-day season, accounting for some days it would have to be closed due to weather.

It was pointed out that the city has given close to $200,000 in the form of paying off the chairlift debt and having title transferred.

Henderson noted that this money would go to operations.

She also acknowledged that from the Friends of Sima perspective, it's unlikely the hill will ever be self-sufficient, which is why the discussion around long-term funding is important.

A council and senior management meeting this week will focus on the latest Sima situation, Fendrick said in an interview.

As for when the issue will come forward to council for a formal vote of any sort, he said a report and recommendation could come forward as early as next week's council meeting with a vote to follow.

He also said in this case, where "time is of the essence” in getting things in order for the hill to open this winter, it's possible a special meeting of council could be called to deal with the matter.

In that case, there would be a minimum of 48 hours' notice prior to a special council meeting.

"There's a lot of moving parts,” Fendrick said of the Sima situation.