Council gives go-ahead to work camp
Temporary site behind Multiplex to house up to 150 hospital construction workers
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
City councillors Monday gave the go-ahead to a temporary workers camp housing up to 150 people on city-owned land south of the Multiplex.
Coun. Shauna Morgan questions what can be done to minimize the blasting and cutting of trees behind the Multiplex to make way for a temporary workers camp. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
The camp required council to approve rezoning of the parcel of land behind the facility off Kam Lake Road and to also approve it as a conditionally permitted use.
The camp would house tradespeople brought in by a consortium of companies, including Clark Builders, constructing the new Stanton Territorial Hospital. The camp is expected to be in place for up to 24 months.
Council previously rejected a larger proposal near the new trailer park in Kam Lake from the consortium over concerns raised by residents and its distance from amenities. The company returned to council with three new options. The 30,000-square-metre rocky and wooded area behind the Fieldhouse was favoured.
Coun. Shauna Morgan said she had recently walked through the site that appears to have a well used trail, prompting her to raise a series of questions about blasting and removal of vegetation.
"I think we need to be very careful about what we do with this piece of land and how it's changed," she said. "Because we risk destroying a really valuable asset if the entire square that's laid out as the site area ends up looking like a moonscape."
Rod Carson, a project manager with Clark Builders, said the company has carefully planned to minimize the amount of costly blasting.
The site won't be cheap to prepare for use, however.
In a report to council, the estimated cost of surveying, tree removal, blasting, hooking up power and Internet as well as other work comes in at $562,429.85.
Because of that cost, the city has waived a standard leasing fee for city land. The consortium will still have to pay property taxes, though that amount was not known Monday.
The company will have to provide a $10,000 environmental security deposit and will be responsible for any cleanup costs above that amount. As well, it will have to pay a $20,000 bond for camp removal.
Cindy Allen was the only member of the public who spoke against the rezoning.
She raised concerns about how the camp's proposed location would impact traffic and parking around the recreation facilities.
"I am concerned as a city of Yellowknife resident that the Fieldhouse as it is right now and the location wouldn't necessarily meet the interests of the residents of Yellowknife," Allen said.
Carson said the workers will be encouraged to not bring their vehicles to the campsite which would leave parking available for those using the recreation facilities.
Workers will be bused from the campsite to the construction site. The camp will have trucked water and sewer service.
Before her comments, Allen told council she's a board member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation- owned Det'on Cho Corporation.
After council rejected the earlier camp plan, the company had reached out to try and facilitate hosting the camp on YKDFN land.
During a meeting in June, representatives of Clark Builders said their preference was to have the camp closer to town.
Councillors Julian Morse, Linda Bussey, Adrian Bell, Rebecca Alty, Shauna Morgan and Steve Payne voted in favour of the bylaw change.
When it came time to vote on whether to also give approval to the camp as a conditionally permitted use for the area, Coun. Alty proposed a motion to wait a week to mull new information raised at the meeting - such as the waiving of the lease fee for the land. No other councillors supported the motion to table, so it failed.
Coun. Shauna Morgan successfully amended the conditional approval to include language ensuring the work camp site is as small as possible, uses as little blasting as possible and preserves as much vegetation as possible.
After the votes at Monday's meeting, city staff still have to approve a development permit for the camp.
In an e-mail, city spokesperson Stephanie Vandeputte stated approval of the permit is expected within about a week though it depends on when the applicant provides information to the city.
Once the permit is approved, it would be subject to a two-week appeal period before construction of the camp can begin.
