Yellowknife (Sep 03/04) - Con trailer court residents are set to sign on the dotted line next week for the 30-year leases recently awarded to them in a compromise deal between the Yellowknives Dene and the territorial government.

Director of planning and lands division Brian Austin, with Municipal and Community Affairs, said they're still hammering out numbers but he expects the individual leases for the 26 lots to be in the $40,000 to $45,000 range.

"It'll be at market value," said Austin.

"Basically, the city had done an appraisal of the value of those parcels of land, which I'm waiting to receive from them, but it looks like it's in the order of mid-forties."

Residents will have the choice of paying 10 per cent of the full amount per year over a 10-year period or paying the entire amount up front.

The trailer court's future appeared less than certain only a few weeks ago when the Yellowknives Dene opposed a land sale transfer between the city and the territorial government. That issue has since been resolved by an agreement that fee simple title won't be given to the residents, who will instead be offered leases on the properties.

The Yellowknives may elect to take ownership of the land once land selection negotiations have concluded, effectively making them the landlords of the trailer court.

The agreement will also free residents from having to pay an additional amount for clean-up of possible arsenic contamination of the publicly-owned portions of the trailer courts.

Austin said clean-up of those areas will likely be paid out of revenues raised through the leasing agreements with the trailer court residents.

"We'll receive a certain amount of revenue from the 26 residents and that will be applied against the cost of bringing the common areas up to an acceptable standard," said Austin.

"Anything that hasn't been recovered will subsequently be transferred to the Yellowknives Dene and they would be responsible for any of the outstanding costs on the transfer of lands to them."

By far the biggest immediate expenses facing residents are the installation of water and sewer and tanks, which could cost upwards of $20,000.

"The big thing is getting the development permits, getting everything in place in such a short period of time," said resident Lorna Skinner.

She said her neighbours are otherwise happy they were able to reach a deal to save their homes.