Yellowknife (Sep 29/04) - Northlands residents are going to have to foot the bill for sewer upgrades, says the mayor.

Gord Van Tighem blamed a lack of foresight in anticipating future infrastructure costs.

The mayor, who financed a few condominium deals in his days as a bank manager, said most condo groups borrow money to cover infrastructure needs -- like new water and sewer lines -- when they form a corporation, but that wasn't the case with Northland.

"(All other condo corporations, at the time their condos were created) borrowed enough money at the outset to purchase the land and renew all of the infrastructure," said Van Tighem.

"At the end of a two-year warranty period, the infrastructure was turned over to the city formally to care for it in perpetuity."

In this case, trailer park residents may have to fork out as much as $15 million to replace aging water and sewer lines.

About 200 residents gathered for a meeting at the legislative assembly last week, where the discussion focused on what many believe is an unfair relationship with the city.

Organizer Wade Friesen uncovered a 1971 document that appears to indicate it was the city's responsibility to pay for roads, water and sewer infrastructure.

Van Tighem said that document may still need to be explained, but insisted Northland's piecemeal approach over the several years it took to sell off individual lots and form a working condo group is the main reason why the trailer park is having problems.

"When Northland was converted, it was done over time and it wasn't an entire package. So it ended up different than the others," he said.

However, residents' complaints over water wastage bills to the condo group, which range from $2,500 to $6,000 a month -- despite enormous individual water bills to residents who don't have working meters -- is something the city will have to look at, the mayor said.

Property tax assessments, which puts Northland on par with trailer residents on Bigelow Crescent who receive full services from the city, also need to be explained, said Van Tighem.

Friesen said he hopes the city will put the condo issue before city council before the end of next month.

He still maintains that the condo group could have had money put aside for infrastructure replacements had the city not begun charging water wastage fees in 1993, fees that at times drained one-third of condo fees collected each month.

"We could've very well been a lot more prepared for this, but not for the huge bill that was imposed on us," said Friesen.

Bill Graham, treasurer for Yellowknife Condominium Corp. No. 8, which represents the trailer park, said he is pleased by the number of residents who attended the meeting organized by Friesen.

He hopes many will show up at the condo board's annual general meeting in December, which typically didn't happen in the past.

He said regardless of what the city tells them, Northland residents have some tough decisions to make. A city improvement tax would at least get residents out of long-term financing for water and sewer replacements, but would still prove costly at tax time.

"It becomes very difficult to borrow the money to do the work," said Graham. "We're talking 20 years, and most people won't be here in 20 years."