Fort Smith (Jan 15/07) - After being unable to reach a deal for over a year, Fort Smith's main political groups have agreed on how to spend a $1.5-million windfall from the territorial government.

The agreement on Fort Smith's share of the Community Capacity Building Fund was reached and signed Jan. 9 by the municipal government, Salt River First Nation (SRFN) and the Fort Smith Metis Council.

Ken Hudson, president of the Metis Council, is happy to see the matter finally settled.

Hudson said the inability to agree was creating friction among the three organizations. "It caused a lot of grief."

Under the deal, $686,000 will go to the Town of Fort Smith to help pay for the recently-completed swimming pool and development of the grounds around the building, $300,000 to the Metis for renovations at Roaring Rapids Hall, $300,000 to SRFN for a proposed youth development centre and $200,000 to Northern Life Museum.

Hudson said the Metis may also spend $50,000 of its share to construct a Bailey bridge over the Salt River at the Thebacha campsite.

Mayor Peter Martselos is pleased an agreement has finally been reached, noting it is not surprising there was some disagreement among the three groups.

Martselos said the deal was ratified when the Metis and SRFN lowered the amount they wanted given to the museum.

In the end, he said, "We felt giving $200,000 was enough for the museum."

As a result, the town's share increased.

The SRFN and the Metis had initially argued that about $400,000 should go to the museum, and only $500,000 to the town. At one time, the town was seeking $800,000.

Jeri Miltenberger, the chair of Northern Life Museum, said it's wonderful to get a share of the money, noting it would take a long time to raise such an amount. "It takes a lot of bake sales to raise $200,000."

She said the museum may spend the money on creating an aboriginal cultural centre, developing its outdoor gallery and expanding storage areas. The museum will also try to grow the money by seeking matching funds for projects.

The money for Fort Smith is part of a $35-million fund established by the territorial government in 2005 for every community in the NWT. The government set an initial deadline of Nov. 1, 2006, for proposals to be submitted, but that has been extended to March 31.