Van Tighem casts deciding vote to get city talking with Justice Department.
Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 02/01) - The city's new arena may be built on the Yellowknife Correctional Centre site after all.
Months of growing consensus that the complex should be built next to Sir John Franklin high school went out the window Monday night as a city council committee voted by the narrowest of margins to reconsider the merits of the YCC site.
Mayor Gord Van Tighem, who has publicly favoured the YCC site, didn't hesitate in deciding which way to swing at Monday meeting of the priorities, policies and budget committee, casting a tie-breaking vote to put the YCC option back on the table.
"I have greater confidence that there are less structural problems on YCC," said Van Tighem. "I see it as better for the city in the longer term."
What the agenda for Monday's session listed as an information session on the results of a study of the geology both sites turned into intense debate among councillors over the merits of each site.
Coun. Robert Hawkins revived the YCC option by moving that the committee recommend council get the ball rolling on the YCC site at next Monday's full council meeting.
If council agrees, it will direct administration to start talks with the territorial Department of Justice to figure out some way to allow construction of the arena while the jail is still operating.
The committee split four to four on the motion, forcing the mayor's tie-breaking vote.
Councillors Robert Hawkins, Dave Ramsay, Alan Woytuik and Dave McCann all voted in favour of exploring the YCC site. Councillors Wendy Bisaro, Ben McDonald, Blake Lyons and Kevin O'Reilly voted against the move.
"The Sir John site is available and negotiations are virtually complete," said O'Reilly. "There are significant uncertainties (with YCC), like the time it will take to negotiate."
According to Van Tighem, the city received a letter last week from the Justice Department opening the door to negotiate for the YCC site.
The correctional centre is expected to end operations in 2004 when it will move to a new location.
Department spokesperson Judy Langford said it is too early to say how long the negotiations could last or if the city would get what it wanted.
"Our position is if the city contacts us, we're open," she said. "It's premature to make comments."
Rocky reports
According to early estimates, building on the YCC land could save the city $177,000.
Geotechnical studies also seem to favour the YCC site slightly, but the high school site is not rife with mud and silt sink holes as was thought.
On the high school site, bedrock depth ranges from three to 12 metres. At the YCC site bedrock depth ranges between 0.3 to 10 metres.
A letter to the city from EBA Engineering, which carried out the studies, said the average suggested depth of bedrock at the YCC is 4.4 m while the average at the high school site is 7.6 m. According to EBA, an arena built at the YCC wouldn't need to be supported entirely by piles and "would likely result in cost saving."
Councillors critical of the YCC site said the city is wasting potential development of the prison site by rushing to build an arena there.
"I don't have much doubt that (the YCC site) is the best," said Coun. Ben McDonald. "But the best site is not the best for the city.
"I don't know why we'd give up free land (the high school site would cost the city $1 a year) and take a chance of wasting a good portion of land by building an arena around a jail," said McDonald.
Council already passed a bylaw to enter into a lease agreement with the Yellowknife District No. 1 school board for the Sir. John site.
City senior administrator Max Hall said the bylaw can't be repealed but can be left "dormant".
School officials did not return calls by press time.
