Looking back at 2022, there were some disappointments – but there was also achievements, says Mayor Laura Cabott.

The April 30 landslide on the escarpment and the city’s response to the emergency was a high point for her, she told the Star in a wide-ranging interview earlier this week.

“The escarpment, that was unexpected, at least to the extent of the slide, in particular along Robert Service Way,” she says. “It caused a big disruption to the city, city services and the public.

“I think the way we responded to the situation, the public, staff and consultants, I was very impressed with that,” she says, noting the cost of dealing with the slide was $2.3 million.

Cabott said she was also impressed with how the city dealt with the record snowfall last winter.

“The crews were working around the clock maintaining priority routes so you could get through to the city,” she says. “We ended up spending extra money, half a million, but we got through.”

She says the response sent a message that the city needed to improve its snow and ice removal policy.

“We did that,” she says, adding council did agree to spend $4 million to buy new equipment to augment its snow-clearing capabilities but to also augment the city’s inventory of heavy equipment in general.

Cabott says the city will be looking in the New Year at how to better manage snow.

On the flip side, the late-year cancellation of the quest to host the 2027 Canada Winter Games was very disappointing, she says.

Cabott says the city did commit to providing $11 million in funding, close to what it was being asked to provide.

But the Yukon government pulled the plug on hosting the Games because of what the spectacle was going to cost.

Cabott says the decision to cancel should have been made a lot sooner.

The host committee headed by former NDP government leader Piers McDonald was “fantastic,” and had been working on hosting the Games for 18 months, she points out.

Cabott says the city was not involved in the decision to cancel, which was announed in a press release by Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn.

The city knew it needed at least four ice sheets, and a new athletes’ village, she says.

Also disappointing, Cabott says, was the decision to cancel the city hall reconstruction project, which had included a new transit hub, because the low bid came in many millions of dollars higher than what had been budgeted.

It was, however, the right decision, she says.

The city will see design work for the transit hub next year and construction in 2024, she says.

The city hall project would have created enough new office space for 50 to 60 of the employees who were moved out of the former Municipal Services Building on Fourth Avenue when it was closed down.

Cabott says they are looking at moving the employees up to the new Operations Building off of Range Road. It will require an addition to the building, she says.

The mayor says some people might be wondering why the city is already adding onto such an expensive new building, but it was designed to accommodate expansion.

The plan is to move ahead on the expansion, she says.

Cabott says design for the renovation of city hall will also occur next year with construction likely beginning in 2024.

The estimated cost of the renovation won’t be known until the design work is complete next year, she says.

The mayor notes the city has been able to keep property tax increases to two per cent or 2.5 per cent in recent years.

Cabott committed in her 2021 election campaign to have a housing summit in her first year as mayor, but she is only one of seven voices on council, and not everybody was in support of a summit in 2022.

But hosting a housing summit is one of city council’s strategic priorities, she says.

“I believe a housing summit will be coming forward in 2023, and I’m hopeful we’ll have a housing summit in 2023 but there are a few parts that still have to be confirmed.”

She says the new housing advisory committee appointed by council will take part in the summit.

The city, she says, has been successful with its housing incentive policy, and will continue to along the same path.

“I believe the city is doing some pretty good work now.”

Cabott notes the city provided $500,000 in incentives to support the 84-unit Normandy housing project in Takhini, and $1 million in incentives to the Cornerstone project at the end of Main Street.

“We will continue to provide incentives for affordable housing in particular and high-density housing,” she says.

Cabott says the city issued a record number of housing permits in the third quarter.

The city, she says, will continue to streamline the process for issuing housing permits to make it quicker for builders to get their permits.

“We want to get those out the door so builders can build.”

The mayor says they’ll continue to support initiatives by the Kwanlin Dun First Nation and the Ta’an Kwach’an Council to create more affordable housing in Whitehorse.

City council and administration have done some great work in increasing the housing stock, but there is more to do.

“Are we there yet?” she asks. “No. But I think there has been some big differences in the last year.”

Cabott speaks favourably of the planned changes in the transit service, the first phase to be implemented next year.

The route realignment will add two additional routes and expand transit service by 35 per cent.

While city hall will remain the main transit hub, the Canada Games Centre will become a new hub to provide greater flexibility for passengers, she says.

The goal, says Cabott, is to increase ridership.

The mayor says there are a number of projects, some new, some continuing, that will advance in the new year.

There will be upgades to the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre, and work to replace the Robert Service Campground building re-placement will continue, she says.

Cabott says they’ll implement a traffic calming initiative for the McIntyre subdivision, including curb work, sidewalk work and road work.

“All sorts of stuff,” she says. “It just makes that neigbbourhood safer, and more efficient for traffic to come in and out of there.”

Cabott says they plan to implement a study looking at traffic in north Whitehorse, coming out of Porter Creek and Whistle Bend, and travelling through Marwell.

There are some challenges, she explains when asked if the addition of another lane could be possible.

Cabott points out there are private businesses whose properties butt up against Quartz Road.

“I look forward to seeing that the transportation experts and consultants come up with.”

Completing the update on the city’s Official Community Plan that has been hanging over the heads of the previous council and the current council is expected, she says.

“I can see the light,” says the mayor. “It will be nice to complete that plan so we can provide certainty for developers.”

Cabott says it took a little while for the members of council to settle into their roles following last year’s election, but what they accomplished working with administration has been “impressive.

“I think council worked pretty well together,” she says.

“When you look at the seven of us – different backgrounds, diverse, common interests, different interests – how do you manage that?

“You corral some of those ideas into making good decisions for all Whitehorse residents.”