SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - City administration and the Yellowknife Shooting Club are close to a contract agreement over the rifle range at the sandpits.

Barry Taylor, president of the shooting club, made a presentation to councillors Monday afternoon reviewing four points the city and the club are divided on: the remediation fund, the shotgun range, the limitations of cleanup under the lease and the closure plan.

Taylor said the remediation fund they have set up with the city should be limited to the club's liability only and not under an unlimited liability as the current draft of the contract states.

"The club (cannot) agree to any provision that would allow the city to charge its costs to monitor compliance against the remediation fund," he said, adding the city could use the fund however they want without being accountable to the club.

The new shotgun range does not comply with the Firearms Act and Taylor said the club needs to adjust the designated piece of land in order for the new range to be usable. Taylor also wants the Department of Defence to assume clean-up responsibility since it was the primary user for decades and continues to use the range today.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said he was pleased to hear they were getting close to a deal, adding it was likely the closest they'd ever been.

"Now go and sign the damn thing," Van Tighem joked, drawing laughs from Taylor and others in the room.

City garage work approved

The city garage will be getting a new roof and insulation to help reduce improve safety and energy consumption.

Council voted to award the contract to ARCAN Construction Ltd. for $292,665. The work was originally budgeted at $280,000 and was to include window replacement to improve the work environment, but because the cost was higher than anticipated, this work was removed.

The new roofing and insulation is to help reduce the amount of heat and energy used in the building. The city estimates it will save $7,500 annually at $0.85 per litre. The work is also intended to reduce damage to the building from ice hanging off the eaves during winter months.

Coun. David Wind said they should be sticking to what is in the annual budget, commenting on the inclusion and removal of the window replacements.

"It makes the progress of budgeting for projects very muddy," Wind said.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said when the city budgets it attempts to plan for costs but getting them completely accurate is a difficult task.

"They've attempted to be innovative here," Van Tighem said of the decision to not replace the windows and to stick as close to the budgeted amount as possible.

Olympic ice pad to be named after Jeske

City councillors voted unanimously to name the Olympic ice pad at the Multiplex after Ed Jeske.

Beaton Mackenzie, co-ordinator of the Short Selects oldtimers hockey team, approached council on May 25 to name the ice pad after the local hockey legend.

Jeske was instrumental in starting minor hockey in Yellowknife along with Shorty Brown. In 1966, Jeske and Brown took the first peewee hockey team out of the territory to compete in a tournament in Quebec City.

A longtime member of the Yellowknife Minor Hockey board of directors, Jeske is currently serving a lifetime appointment as president of Yellowknife Oldtimers Hockey.