Representatives of three local museums say they are "saddened” the city won't be a doling out the $10,000 they requested.

"We wanted something for the whole Yukon to benefit,” Casey McLaughlin, the Yukon Transportation Museum's executive director/curator, said in an interview Wednesday.

She and representatives of the Copperbelt Railway and Mining Museum and the Old Log Church Museum are now looking at where they can cut back in their proposed plans with no funding from the city, she said.

Council voted 3-2 Monday evening to turn down the heritage fund application made by the three museums representatives.

Councillors Kirk Cameron and Dave Stockdale voted against turning down the funding, arguing the groups should be given the money.

The museums were looking for the cash for a project focused on improving operations for the facilities, culminating in a five-year plan strategic plan and a collections policy and plan for each museum.

While reports to council made note of a 13-day workshop, McLaughlin said Wednesday she's unsure where the city got the idea a nearly two-week session was planned.

The proposal, she said, is to see the three museums work together, sharing resources for a consultant to assist each in coming up with the individual plans.

The $10,000 requested of the city would have gone to a one-day board development session, not only for the museums but other non-profit groups in the territory.

"The workshop is now not happening,” she said.

The entire project was estimated to cost $160,000, with $110,000 of that coming from the territory's Department of Tourism and Culture.

The museums would have provided another $40,000 in the form of in-kind services like staff wages, facility use, materials and administrative costs.

The final $10,000 had been proposed to come from the heritage fund and would pay the wages for heritage expert Catherine Cole to facilitate the workshop.

McLaughlin noted it would have also served as an example of how the territory, city and museums could work together.

However, most of council agreed with the recommendation of city staff not to approve the application.

They argued it didn't fit with the fund's policy that funding go to restore, enhance or renovate heritage properties, or to raise public awareness about heritage issues.

Cameron and Stockdale were both quick to point to the other section of the policy, though that states funding can also be provided "for other purposes as specified by council.”

"There is an open window there,” Stockdale said.

The $10,000 is not a large sum out of the fund, which has a balance of more than $97,000, he argued.

The policy, Stockdale emphasized later in the meeting, leaves room for discretion when council members feel a proposed project is good.

"We're not flying it under the radar,” he said.

Cameron, meanwhile, suggested the section stating funding can go to other purposes decided by council was likely put in the policy recognizing that there would be cases where funding is appropriate, though it doesn't fit with upgrading a heritage property or raising public awareness.

This situation, Cameron suggested, is the case here.

In offering his "full support,” Cameron also said he met with representatives from the three museums, and that the five year plan will see the groups work together.

Coun. Florence Roberts was the first to speak out against providing the cash.

She argued the groups could have applied for other grants from the city that may have been a better fit in for the workshop.

Coun. Betty Irwin was also quick to speak up, stating she doesn't think the proposal meets the guidelines for funding.

Having only heard through word of mouth about council's decision, McLaughlin said the museums will look at what happened and where to go from here.

She also noted they were able to meet with Cameron prior to Monday's vote.

However, they weren't informed earlier of when it would be coming forward to council, she added, so the groups were unable to have a chance to address the entire council.

They did provide a four-page letter to members about the plans, she said.

Councillors Dave Austin and Ranj Pillai were absent from the meeting.