Great Northern Ski Society officials have set June 10 as their next deadline in continuing to look at the long-term plan for Mount Sima, society director Patti Balsillie said this morning.

Last Thursday evening marked this month's second closed-door Sima Summit session.

The gatherings were held after the society approached city council earlier this year seeking $400,000 in short-term funding to keep the ski hill open. It also sought long-term core funding estimated to be up to $400,000 annually.

While the city didn't provide the funding, the Sima Summit events were organized to look at solutions for the hill.

After the initial deadline of March 31 passed to keep the hill running, officials looked for other ways to stay open, laying off five employees, with only three staff staying on.

Summer operations began over the weekend, though Balsillie did not have information on how many sun worshippers were on the hill to take in the summer adventure park.

Her role with the board has her focusing on the summit, she explained.

"It was really positive,” she said of the most recent session.

Last Thursday's summit drew about 30 stakeholders. They included government officials, user groups and private business representatives who have been involved with the hill over the years.

It's been argued on several occasions that more of a community-based approach needs to be taken in coming to a long-term plan for the ski area.

The second meeting focused on what the future may look like after the first meeting was directed at providing everyone with the hill's information.

On Thursday, the user base was discussed, as well as how to be more efficient with expenses and understanding the opportunities that may be there to enrich revenue.

Over the course of the evening, the 30 or so on hand were divided into eight working groups which were then tasked with producing concepts for how the hill may operate in the future.

A total of 25 pages later, Balsillie said, three major themes emerged from all the ideas. They included focusing on growing the Sima community; cutting down on expenses and expanding revenues.

Making it clear that what came forward was ideas only which have yet to be explored, she said concepts such as bringing in a tube park, for example, could help both grow the fan base with

an activity that is family-friendly and doesn't require users to know how to ski or snowboard.

"It grows that hub idea,” she said, referring to a number of suggestions that came forward to make Sima a gathering place for the community.

Growth of school and youth programs was also suggested as a way to increase the fan base.

User fees and what they would mean for different organizations which use the hill was also brought up.

No one suggested simply writing a cheque, she stressed, noting involvement from various levels of government may not be in the form of cash, but could perhaps involve off-setting some of the hill maintenance with the help of city staff.

Three city councillors – Betty Irwin, John Streicker and Dave Stockdale – were at Thursday's meeting.

On June 10, Balsillie said the full findings out of the meeting will be made public, though just what form that will take – whether it be a public meeting, online or some other means – has yet to be determined.

The board has also been making use of its website and Facebook page to keep the public up to date on the future of the hill.

Balsillie also emphasized the society is a volunteer board.

Members are not compensated for their work, noting there have been some misconceptions that board members are paid for their efforts.