SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The opening date for the much-anticipated new salvaging area at the city landfill remains in limbo five months after a dump fire closed it to residents in search of free junk.

Dennis Kefalas, director of public works, blames heavy snowfall and difficulties finding inexpensive contractors for the delays in constructing a three-cell salvage area, which will replace the old system that allowed salvaging from the dumping area.

The three-cell salvaging area - which will rotate three areas for dropping off materials and salvaging - is now approximately 70 per cent completed, said Kefalas.

In late December, Kefalas told Yellowknifer salvaging at the landfill would resume early in the new year but that opening date is still undetermined.

"We're working on it. We're trying to come up with some fencing details and cost estimates associated with those details," said Kefalas.

"We're hoping in a couple of weeks, but given the weather we've had this month, it's probably going to be delayed."

Kefalas said one of the contractors employed by the city to construct the three-cell has been too busy clearing snow in the city.

The salvaging area will be located in the section of the landfill near the car parts and old tires. Now under the cover of snow, there's little to see.

Retaining walls approximately two metres tall - supports against which bins will be placed - have been built, said Kefalas.

He said the base area will require more work in the spring.

From the time the area opens until then, ramps will be used to access the drop-off areas.

The drop-off areas won't be enclosed by a roof or by walls. Concrete barriers and a chain link fence will section off the area, but that material has yet to be purchased.

Kefalas said the city hasn't set a cost for the entire project, but are trying to find reasonably priced material and the best bids for individual tasks.

The city budgeted $150,000 for the project in 2008 but only $12,000 was spent during that fiscal year. The remaining $138,000 was carried over into the 2009-2010 budget period, which comes to an end on March 31.

Kefalas said the city is now in the process of buying the fencing but it's still waiting for price estimates from a contractor to see "what's the most feasible and economical to do."

City councillor Paul Falvo said the last time he asked, Kefalas told him the salvaging area would open in late February.

Falvo said residents frequently ask him when the salvage area will re-open, but said it wasn't a decision city council was making.

He said although council had approved the construction of a three-cell salvaging area, it was the city's choice to close the salvaging section after the dump fire on Sept. 5 - which the city has suggested was caused by a careless salvager's cigarette - and it is in charge of re-opening it.

"Nobody thought salvaging would be closed for as long as it has been," said Falvo.

Some residents are frustrated the project continues to lag.

"It obviously shows that this is not a priority for them," said Walt Humphries, Yellowknifer's Tales from the Dump columnist and an avid salvager.

Yellowknife, as Humphries has noted many times, is one of the few communities in North America of this city's size that allows salvaging at its dump.

It's been a point of interest for a number of international filmmakers and publications, including the New York Times, which published a feature story on the city's dump in 2005.

"I still don't see why (the city) couldn't have put in a temporary salvaging area while they were waiting," said Humphries.

"How difficult is it to get a fence? Enough wood gets thrown away there every day."