IQALUIT - With one vote against, Iqaluit's City Council voted to allow alcohol to be served at the annual slo-pitch tournament Sept. 4 to 7.

Slo-Pitch Association president Tracy Leschyshyn said this year would be the first time in her nine years in Iqaluit where the tournament would include a team from out of town. A team from Rankin Inlet is among the competitors.

As he has every year, Councillor Glen Williams asked why an alcohol permit was needed for the event.

"This is the only sporting event where the participants require beer," he remarked.

The special events permit was approved 4-1.

Energy Corp. criticized

Coun. Glen Williams complained the Qulliq Energy Corporation was not communicating with city council as it pursues a possible hydroelectric power plant.

"I am in full support for a power source for the city that is environmental, that is cost effective and that is best for the city," Williams said.

But he said QEC has been "informing" the city of its decisions, not seeking the city's input as it makes them.

Williams said since ratepayers ultimately pay whatever price QEC charges, QEC needs to talk to the elected representatives of its customers.

QEC has reportedly chosen Janes Inlet as the site of its hydro project. Williams asked how that decision was made and why, for example, the Sylvia Grinnell River was ruled out.

He also asked if there was any level of consideration for the city's future water needs as QEC makes plans for a hydro project.

Coun. Jimmy Kilabuk agreed with Williams's criticisms on the lack of consultation with the city.

"When they don't even come to council, if we have to make a decision in the future it's hard to know what's going on," Kilabuk said through a translator.

Rec vehicle denied

City council erupted into a heated battle when new recreation director Jean-Claude Fromont asked for a fourth vehicle for the city's recreation department.

With one abstention, the motion was unanimously denied.

The 15-person recreation department has three vehicles, two of which Fromont said are in frequent need of maintenance. The third vehicle, according to Fromont, is shared between Recreation and Public Works and is usually used by a Public Works carpenter.

As the city grows, its recreation needs are growing too, Fromont said. The Arctic Winter Games arena is going to be repaired, which means the recreation department will need to be able to get to it on a regular basis.

Coun. Glen Williams said the city had been trying to reduce its vehicle fleet for years and does not need another full-size truck on the road. He asked why a Public Works carpenter was using the three-quarter tonne truck with a snow-plow, a vehicle the city had purchased mainly so it could clear skating rinks on snow-covered lakes.

Williams said city administration needs to look at how the city's vehicles are being used by the different departments rather than hurriedly ask for new vehicles outside the city's annual budgeting process.

The council granted a new vehicle to the bylaw enforcement department earlier this year, which Williams opposed on the same grounds.

John Mabberi-Mudonyi, acting senior administrator, said the recreation department did need a new vehicle, and said he would look into the other departments to see what resources could be allocated. Mabberi-Mudonyi anticipated Public Works would also be requesting a new vehicle in the near future.