Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
Hay River (May 21/01) - The residents in Hay River's only high rise building almost had the plug pulled last week for non-payment of the utility bill.
The 30-year-old building's owners, Royal Property Management, have fallen three months behind on power payments to Northlands Utilities Ltd., who threatened to discontinue service to the building last week, but that action was deferred, says NUL manager Duane Morgan.
In consultation with the NWT fire marshal, social services and local emergency measures officials, NUL would keep the power on. Morgan declined to comment on the outstanding debt or the utility's next course of action, but told the Hub newspaper, "Pulling the plug is still an option. It's the last resort. We don't want to go there."
Morgan would not elaborate on the statement.
"It's a business dealing between ourselves and one of our clients," Morgan said.
The client has also declined to comment said the building's new manager, Randy Randel.
Randle has been instructed by Royal Property Management to make no comment on the utility, but assures residents the building will stay open.
"This whole thing was blown out of proportion by the Hub," he said. "The building will be open indefinitely and we are seeking new tenants."
He called the article in the Hub, "inaccurate" and "one-sided."
"Their office is right downstairs and nobody even called or came up to talk to me," he said.
Randel said the building is going through some renovations.
"We're cleaning it up to make it a nicer place to live," he said.
Mayor Duncan McNeill said he received a letter from NUL concerning the disconnection of power at the building and sought out a response to the scenario.
"Administration initiated an EMO meeting, but this is not something we had never considered before," McNeill said. "We knew what groups needed to be activated, but in the meantime (two days later), we received a letter from NUL saying they were not going to be cutting off the power."
While the mayor says he has no place in private business dealings, the town must also oversee the well-being of the building's residents.
"I am very concerned when a block of people are going to have their housing disrupted, through no fault of their own," he said. "I would attempt to assist in every possible way."
NWT Fire Marshall Don Gilles said without power to run elevators, fire alarms and hallway lights, the building would have to be evacuated.
"I've provided advice to people within the community who are dealing with that issue," Gilles said.
"If there was no power in the building, we would have to look towards the safety systems and see if they were still operational," he said . "You'd have to consider what options were available to you at that time; up to and including evacuating that building."
The building also houses the receiver that provides local television service, the RCMP communications.
