SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A new marina near Giant Mine is still in limbo, as city council decided on March 22 to shelve the idea until the Harbour Planning Committee is up and running.

"We'll defer the dock project until that commission has a chance to do its work," city councillor Mark Heyck told Yellowknifer after the Priorities, Policies and Budget Committee meeting last month, where the subject was discussed.

The city has been discussing the development of a commercial marina at Giant Mine since last summer. Heyck said a major issue is a disagreement between groups who have jurisdiction over the waterfront, including the Yellowknives Dene, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and the federal government.

"Anything to do with lakes and waterfront is rather complicated," said Heyck. "Hopefully the commission can make some sense of it."

There is a public boat launch by Giant Mine, as well as docks for the Great Slave Yacht Club. Yellowknife hasn't had a commercial marina since the closure of Pier One Marine last year. Pier One Marine was situated on Yellowknife Bay, near Weaver and Devore Trading Inc., and was owned by former city councillor Doug Witty, owner of Force One.

Witty told Yellowknifer last year that he closed Pier One Marine because it was too costly and the lease was up. At the time Witty would not comment on whether he would be seeking to operate the proposed Giant Mine marina.

When Yellowknifer spoke with Witty on March 31, he said he would be interested in operating a marina, but it will all depend on what is decided by the harbour committee.

"I originally approached the city about just putting a dock in and creating some usable space," said Witty. "The city is probably looking for something more elaborate than that ... if they want anything fancier than what I have in mind they're going to have to put up some money."

Witty said the larger scale marina business is a tough business to break even on in Yellowknife. He was appointed as a member of the Harbour Planning Committee on March 22, representing the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce.

The harbour committee is still in need of several members. One member-at-large is needed, and positions yet to be filled are representatives from the Yellowknives Dene, Environment Canada, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, and someone who has been involved with commercial float bases.