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Council Briefs City terminates leases on 50 Street Simon Whitehouse Northern News Services Published Friday, November 30, 2012
Jeff Humble, director of planning and development for the city, told Yellowknifer on Tuesday that the city terminated the lease with both Instaloans and Corner Mart Pizza Chinese Food and Convenience Store this week. The city purchased the two properties and an adjacent parking lot for $975,000 last January. A number of problems have occurred since then, starting with a fuel spill that cost the city $52,415.25. The city has liability insurance which does not cover property-related accidents like the fuel spill, said Humble. The spill was caused by a leaking heating oil tank behind the Instaloans store a couple months after purchasing the property. Last week, three employees at Instaloans fled the store after mice and mildew was discovered, and relocated to the Cash Store across the street, which is owned by the same company. The city gave Instaloans notice this week that the lease will be terminated in 30 days. Corner Mart was notified that it has 90 days. Instaloans representatives refused to answer any questions or confirm they had received termination of the lease. Corner Mart owner Jimmy Kong said he understands where the city is coming from. "Probably the city got so much havoc from next door (Instaloans) but for us there was no problem," he said of the fuel spill. He added it only caused some smells in his establishment, but didn't really affect the 11 employees working there. He said he doesn't know what he will be doing as of yet, but some of the items in his store and restaurant will probably soon be moved to one of the other outlets in the city that he owns. "Of course I feel some despair a little bit, but I also understand where the city comes from," he said. The city has previously identified the three properties as a potential location for low-cost housing.
Vanthuyne appointed deputy mayor City councillor Cory Vanthuyne was named deputy mayor at Monday's regular council meeting. "I'm excited to take on the role and give my support to Mayor Heyck and the many duties that the mayor's office takes on," said Vanthuyne. "Just as a public representative who gets invited to a number of events, it can be overwhelming for the mayor to attend all of them. I'm taking on a number of invites already. Vanthuyne will chair committee and regular council meetings when Mark Heyck is absent. He said he is also open to helping wherever he can as needed by the mayor. The position is reviewed annually by city council, who decided in-camera to put the incumbent councillor in the role for at least a year. Awarded by secret ballot, the vote came down to a contest between Vanthuyne and the city's longest serving councillor, Bob Brooks, who had also expressed interest in the position. Heyck said appointments to committees should be on next week's committee agenda. At that time councillors are expected to express their interest for certain committees, whether they want to get rid of some or create new ones. Core grants awarded to 21 city groups City council gave final approval to $342,000 worth of core grants to 21 organizations in the city Monday night. The previous council had reviewed the recommendations in their last municipal services committee meeting before the expiration of their terms. Under territorial law, the city is limited to giving out two per cent of its operations and maintenance budget for all grants to community groups. This represents $610,000 in spending and encompasses all of the funds that are handed out during a given year, which includes special grants. Only after an organization receives special grant funding for three years in a row can an application be made for a core grant. Some of the core grants include $80,000 for the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, $20,000 for Ecology North, and $55,000 for the Yellowknife Seniors Society.
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