Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, January 9, 2008
RANKIN INLET - The pressure is mounting for a final decision on land development in Rankin Inlet's Area 6 and if that development is going to include a utilidor expansion.
Waiting in the wings is the construction of four five-plex housing units, which are Rankin's share of the $200 million in federal dollars put into Nunavut housing and divided by community.
Hamlet worker Harry Kannak pumps out sewage at a Rankin Inlet business this past week. It has yet to be decided if trucked services or utilidor expansion will be part of the construction in Area 6 later this year. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo |
The Nunavut Housing Corp. is willing to pay its share for the units, but the municipality and Community and Government Services (CGS) don't have the infrastructure in place.
Two more streets are planned for Area 6, with the most-recent design calling for the utilidor to tie into existing lanes to reach back to where the housing units will be constructed.
The problem is cost, estimated at about $125,000 per lot to hook up the utilidor.
Trucked water and sewage would only cost about $15,000 per lot.
CGS assistant deputy minister Shawn Maley said when the project first began in Rankin, the Government of Nunavut (GN) took the risk of converting every household from trucked services - which owners put out as their own expense - to the utilidor.
"We were in people's homes hooking up the utilidor, water meters and circulation lines," said Maley.
"Therefore, the government carried the liability associated with those for a certain period of time.
"I'm not so sure, in 2008, a government anywhere would be willing to do that.
"So, all these things need to be worked through and discussed."
The cost of the utilidor expansion would be double the value of the existing equity leases, meaning the money the hamlet collected on the leases would only make up for about 50 per cent of what it spent on the expansion.
Although the hamlet could create additional revenues if it had the ability to program more lots into the main infrastructure, the expansion only allows for the specific number of lots that have already been calculated.
Another issue is Rankin's continued existence as an anomaly in terms of land development with a utilidor.
Rankin was the first non-tax-based municipality in the North to take the risk of a debenture based on future land development.
But, Maley said the hamlet's original financing didn't include all the infrastructure because the government was a participant. He said the GN had enough assurance with historical and future needs to proceed and, although the hamlet had some tight years, the original gamble worked and the project paid for itself.
But now they're faced with a whole new expansion phase.
"Right now we know the estimated cost and the need, but the hamlet and the GN have to figure out how we're going to get there.
"We've got to have the GN as a participant - which would require a capital-request process - but first we need to determine who's paying for what.
"Then we need to determine a schedule and how we're going to solve our land requirement pressure while all this is happening, because it isn't going to be quick."
With only Iqaluit and Rankin having a utilidor, the standard design for a Nunavut five-plex still includes trucked water and sewage.
The original Area 6 expansion began with truck services for a few years before the utilidor was installed.
Maley said Rankin has more need than available lots and meeting the needs of future development is a growing concern.
"If we didn't have the utilidor in the picture, we'd only be talking about roads, drainage and power lines, and we could accommodate that with relative ease.
"The major problem we're facing is the cost associated with expanding the utilidor.
"That's creating difficulties that our department doesn't encounter in other communities."
Although trucked services would only cost the hamlet $15,000 per lot, with homeowners being responsible for their own sewage and water tanks, Maley supports utilidor expansion and said there are ways to accomplish that.
He said the majority of those connected to the Area 6 expansion would prefer to have the utilidor expanded.
"My read on the situation is that the utilidor is preferred and I'm proceeding along that line.
"But, I'm also developing options in the event we have to look at scheduling or phasing in the project.
"We'll have options for both hamlet council and the GN to consider and I wouldn't be surprised if the project ends up being phased in.
"We can meet the minimum requirements with the utilidor, but the whole financing arrangement still needs to be discussed."
