Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Friday, May 18, 2007

FORT SIMPSON - Members of the main political groups in Fort Simpson shared ideas and concerns while hearing about upcoming projects in the village during a tri-council meeting on May 2.

This was the first tri-council meeting attended by all three leaders and members of their respective councils. Four representatives of the Liidlii Kue First Nation, five from the Fort Simpson Metis Nation and six from the village council attended the meeting.

Members of the tri-council voted in favour of allocating $30,000 to rebuild the arbour at the Papal site.

Fort Simpson has been chosen to host the annual Dehcho assembly, said Chief Keyna Norwegian. A new arbour is needed before the assembly because a number of supporting logs in the current structure are rotten.

"It's going to fall down," said Norwegian.

Completed in 1984, the current structure is over 20 years old. A completely new arbour will cost an estimated $130,000.

Mayor Duncan Canvin said money from the village's share of the Community Capacity Building Fund could be used for the project because everyone in the community uses the structure. The $30,000 is the interest gathered from the GIC that was purchased to house the money from the fund until it was used.

The village is exploring different options for the location of the new seasonal pool.

The original idea was to build the pool against the back of the recreation centre. A representative from Dillon Consulting said that was not the best location, said Mayor Duncan Canvin.

The village is working with the Dehcho Divisional Education Council to see if the pool could be placed on a piece of the school reserve land where the outdoor rink was located this winter.

The new pool will be 40 by 60 feet, twice its current size. The building will be designed so it could be operated year around at a later date, said Canvin.

The chipsealing project might be delayed this year because of drainage problems.

In the original plan, all the main roads on the island would be chipsealed by the end of the summer, said Canvin. The project might be slowed because drainage problems will have to be fixed first.

Problem areas for drainage have been identified, said Tom Matus, the village's senior administrative officer. Repairs will be co-ordinated with the water and sewer mains replacement projects and the sidewalks that might be built, said Matus.

Chief Keyna Norwegian is afraid that people will start taking action against loose dogs by shooting them.

"Bullets are going to start flying and that's scary," said Norwegian.

The village council has been wrestling with the issue and has tried a number of options to combat the problem, said Canvin. The matter will be discussed at the next council meeting, he said.

No matter what the rules for dogs are they need to be enforced consistently, said Nola Benwell. Benwell said she is aware of several situations where dogs remain free because their owners objected loudly enough.

Members of the Fort Simpson Historical Society are concerned about the fate of a barn in the village.

The barn dates from approximately 1919 and is the last building in the village with a gambrel roof. It is located on village property near the elephant park.

Martina Norwegian and Stephen Rowan questioned the village on its plans for the building.

"I don't think we should lightly just knock it over," said Rowan.

The barn is of historical significance and the community should have buildings like this to show visitors, he said.

Mayor Duncan Canvin said he was not aware of any immediate plans for the barn, but said it was in precarious shape.