Jennifer Geens
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 26/05) - A bylaw change that would allow a new office building on land adjacent to the Frame Lake trail passed first reading at a city council meeting Monday night.

Councillors Dave McCann, Kevin O'Reilly and Alan Woytuik opposed the motion.

The Workers' Compensation Board wants to build a new office building on Old Airport Road, next to the popular recreation trail.

The proposed site is zoned for commercial use, which prevents construction of large, single-purpose office buildings. To build their offices there, the WCB needs the zoning bylaw changed.

MLA Robert Hawkins raised the issue in the legislature Monday, asking Charles Dent why the WCB wants to move its offices from the downtown core. He characterized the proposed move as a dangerous precedent which would hurt Yellowknife's downtown.

Dent, whose cabinet portfolio includes the WCB, said land is cheaper on the outskirts of town and that his powers did not extend to telling the WCB where they should operate.

Funding for the Workers' Compensation Board's comes from businesses in the NWT and Nunavut. Each company pays an annual assessment rate of $1.87 per $100 of payroll.

The city's Municipal Services Committee amended the bylaw before it reached council. One of the changes allows the lot to be developed to the property line, provided that the WCB agrees to move the trail.

The public can express their views on the bylaw change at a hearing during the Nov. 14 council meeting.

The Workers Compensation Board has leased 25,000 square feet of space at Centre Square Mall for the last 15 years. It pays $1 million a year in rent for the third and fifth floors, and a medical centre on the ground level.

Dave Grundy, manager of communication and information for the WCB, said owning its building would save money but couldn't estimate how much until the costs are known.

About 100 people work at the WCB's Yellowknife office, with 22 other employees in offices throughout the two territories.

Grundy said the Old Airport Road lot meets the organization's need for 35,000 square feet of space, and the location near the airport and the hospital would be more convenient for injured workers.