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INUVIK - Mayor Derek Lindsay said last Wednesday's demolition of a dilapidated dwelling on Mackenzie Street is just the beginning of his quest to rid the town of its "eyesore" buildings.

But one of the property owners on his list, Talal Khatib, said he's not worried about Lindsay's threat. Khatib currently owns two 12-unit apartment complexes on Inuit Road.

After two years, Mayor Derek Lindsay finally got his wish last Wednesday when this Mackenzie Street property was demolished. He's hoping several other properties will have the same fate soon. - photo courtesy of Town of Inuvik

Despite the mayor's opinion that the buildings are sub-standard and falling apart, Khatib said he has engineering documents that prove the buildings are structurally-sound. However, he said renovations such as repairing the walls and sewer system are needed, and he's hoping to start that work this summer.

He also said most of the damage done has been at the hands of residents, which he said the town won't do anything about.

"They're using my property to cover up for the fact that the town can't maintain security," said Khatib. "They have a bylaw officer and RCMP, and damage is constantly being done to my property and there's never any follow-up.

"But I'm not worried one bit about the mayor's threats."

Coincidentally, Khatib is also the former owner of the demolished property, in which he once operated an apartment complex. He sold the more than 50-year-old building, which had several owners over the years, to his nephew Farouk Khatib. Unable to find a buyer, Farouk left the building vacant and has since left town.

Over what became about a two-year process, Lindsay made it his personal mission to demolish the property, which included having the building condemned by the fire marshal and getting a court order to tear it down. In the meantime, the town also developed a new bylaw to deal with derelict buildings.

"It was an eyesore," said Lindsay. "It was unsafe. It was a fire trap and it was just an dilapidated old building.

"We need to clean up the town, get rid of these garbage buildings. They're renting out sub-standard living arrangements."

Barb Kiely and her husband Rick Campbell lived near the building on Union Street for the last 17 years. Kiely said they were happy to see it gone.

"It was awful," she said. "There were fires there. It was an eyesore, but the most concerning thing was that kids playing around there and that's just dangerous."

Talal said he has not been in contact with his nephew since the demolition, though he said the town's decision to tear down the building was a good one.