Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services

Fort Smith (Feb 18/02) - When BHP wooed power engineer Ian Kelly and his family North a year ago, he did plenty of research before picking a community.

After the number-crunching was done, he concluded Fort Smith offers the best "economic advantage."

He and wife, Jackie, also looked at Hay River; which came in second, and Yellowknife.

With Yellowknife prices averaging $75,000 just for a small lot, South Slave communities sniff opportunity. They've been trying to direct the eyes of mining company honchos across the big lake.

Hay River Mayor Duncan McNeil recently made a sales pitch for his town in a meeting with Diavik president Stephen Prest. Fort Smith just spent $3,000 for a glossy flyer distributed to mine workers promoting things like the town's low cost of living, low crime and abundant recreation opportunities.

Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger told a public meeting "we have to convince the diamond mines we are in fact bedroom communities."

But BHP's Denise Burlingame says the company has nothing to do with housing as employees live wherever they want. Every week BHP flies workers for free to and from 14 Northern communities.

In Fort Smith, a building lot can be had for $9,000, with an average price in the $13,000 range. Kelly bought three acres.

A good building lot in Hay River is $30,000 more, but that's still another $30,000 less expensive than one in Yellowknife.

The apartment vacancy rate in Fort Smith is pretty much zero, but officials there aren't worried.

"You might as well build something and it will be an investment. You only need five per cent down and the interest rates are so low," says economic development officer Richard Power.

More than 50 Fort Smith residents work in the diamond mines, but so far the Kellys are the first from away who chose the town over other places.

With three children aged 11, 10, and another under two years old, they're moving from Uranium City, Sask., population 150.

"When you move to the territories you've go to be smart about it, because it does cost more."

In their decision, the Kellys also calculated things like food and utility costs. But picking a community was about more than just dollars.

Calling school principals was just one way Ian got a feel for Fort Smith and Hay River.

The fact Fort Smith has a lot of trees appealed to Kelly. And as a boater, he likes the idea of being able to use the Slave River to access two huge lakes -- Great Slave and Athabaska.

Fort Smith's Mayor Peter Martselos and the Chamber of Commerce rolled out the red carpet when they found out Kelly was scouting the town, offering a tour and answering all his questions.

Martselos is blunt about the goal:

"We're trying to get them to stop living in Yellowknife."

Hay River's housing outlook is different from Fort Smith's. Kelly describes the Hub's real estate pickings as "slim."

Fewer building lots are available in Hay River but apartment space is easier to come by, for those willing to downgrade their living standard.

The Mackenzie Place highrise has dozens of unoccupied one- and two-bedroom units.

Some say mine workers don't want to live there, even as a temporary measure, because the building is too run down.

Land claims are restricting Hay River's growth, and that's starting too worry some officials.

McNeil said there is room for 1,000 more people in Hay River before land claims become a sore point, but that growth will come fast if the Pine Point mine opens.