Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Aug 27/99) - Inuvik town council met for the first time in August this week and had a full agenda to deal with.

At the committee of the whole meeting on Monday night, issues ranged from finding leasing space for Michele Tomassino's New Beginnings Alternative Program school to receiving a donation from the Holy Cross Lutheran Church to a request for permission to stage Inuvik's fifth annual Demolition Derby next month.

RCMP Const. Brian Pinder was present and told council that, with the departure of Sean Neary last weekend, he will take over as acting detachment commander until a replacement is assigned.

Coun. Derek Lindsay asked Pinder about the issue of vandalism in town, citing several recent examples. A member of the public also referred to the many cases of damage to automobiles parked down by the boat launch. The idea of installing street lights by the river was suggested, and council said it would review the proposal.

Abdalla Mohamed, owner of United Taxi, also attended the meeting, raising questions about taxi cab permits and the authorized level to be issued. At this point, Mayor George Roach stepped out of the room and was replaced by his deputy, Peter Clarkson.

Roach explained Tuesday that as owner of the Boreal Books building, he's been approached by Oliver and Dorothy Ashton of Camrose, Alta., looking for rental space. The Ashtons are behind a proposal to launch a new cab company, Freedom Taxi, in Inuvik. A public meeting concerning the proposal was slated to take place Wednesday evening just before the regular council meeting.

In other matters, council cancelled the scheduled Sept. 6 committee of the whole meeting because of the Labour Day holiday.

Roach also said Tuesday that one issue of immediate concern to Inuvik is the state of the town's roads.

"The roads are in terrible condition and the pavement seems to be deteriorating quickly," he said. "On three sections last year, we had to take off the pavement and put in gravel -- in some cases the road had dropped by three feet."

Roach said he wasn't sure if weather was the only factor responsible for the rapid deterioration. He said town engineer Richard Feilden will soon be examining the issue to decide whether it makes sense to do any patching before winter or if a bigger job is necessary.