Jason Unrau
Northern News Services
Friday, April 13, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Government plans to build an RV park beside the Folk on the Rocks festival site got a sharp reception Wednesday night from festival society members and supporters angered over lack of consultation on the estimated $1 million project.

Following Industry, Tourism and Investment's presentation on the park at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Folk on the Rocks Society president Glen Abernethy read a prepared statement alleging ITI "misled and manipulated" the society with respect to its intentions. Abernethy also demanded proper public consultation beyond Wednesday's gathering, which Lee referred to as a "public information session."

"This isn't public consultation," said Abernethy. "This is you telling us what you're going to do."

Abernethy and Lee then sparred over whether the proposed 36-stall RV park would eventually spill into the festival site. As ITI has reported a demand for 100 RV spots, the society fears losing a portion of its site - Municipal and Community Affairs land leased to the City of Yellowknife - to future RV park development.

If built, the 36-stall RV park would be on Department of Transportation land, which constitutes the festival's parking area.

"You said there was a need for 100 sites and you're only building 36. Where are you going to go from there?" asked Abernethy.

Lee countered that ITI had federal money to fund both a capital plan for the festival and a business plan to explore the viability of the festival running the RV park, but that the society turned it down.

"We thought this would offer a unique opportunity for the festival," said Lee. "But at no time did we ever say we would expand (the RV park) into Folk on the Rocks without a full partnership."

Adding to the acrimony between society members in attendance and Lee was the "crushed glass" ITI has been stockpiling at the planned RV site; intended to be used as fill. Eventually, this degraded into a heated exchange between several society members and Yellowknife Bottle Depot manager Adam Pich on whether or not the estimated 300 tonnes of material ITI has been procuring from the depot since January and delivering to the site was "crushed glass" or "garbage."

"The recycling depot had been crushing up the glass and taking it to the landfill, which takes up a lot of useable space so we felt it could be put to use as a base material for development," Lee told Yellowknifer in an interview earlier Wednesday.

After the meeting, Lee said he was surprised how upset people were over the glass and that it would be removed in the coming days.

"In the end it was only going to save us about $8,000," Lee added.

Thursday, festival director Tracey Breitbach said she is pleased the glass would be removed.

"Dumping it there was an aggressive gesture," Breitbach said. She said the glass only arrived at the site after the festival declined to participate in ITI's proposed capital and business plans.

"At this point in time we are opposed to the RV park until we get information that we've requested," Breitbach said. This includes "proving" that the DOT land adjacent festival grounds is the best location and ITI has "exhausted all other avenues."

As well, Breitbach wants public consultations, an environmental impact statement and concerns addressed over concertgoers having to cross Highway 3 from an alternate parking lot DOT has offered to the festival.