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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Major construction won't likely begin until next summer at Northland, despite hopes that some work might start this year, the city announced Monday.

Council pushed an awaited borrowing bylaw through second reading and now awaits the signature of the minister of Municipal and Community Affairs this week.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said that, as long as the GNWT gives its blessing, another special council meeting should be held next Monday solely for final approval of the Northland borrowing bylaw.

"The surveying has already started and the best we can do this year is probably purchase materials," said public works director Dennis Kefalas Monday.

Purchasing materials would include necessary piping and other related items to fix the crumbling water mains and sewer lines in the trailer park.

"We should be able to get the surveying done in the next three to four weeks and start doing the detailed design," Kefalas said.

He said he expected the city could put the work out for tender at the start of next year and then begin work early next summer.

Kefalas also said that if there were to be any breaks in the piping this winter, the city wouldn't be able to cover it.

"The local improvement is just the straight upcoming improvements and isn't any sort of emergency work that takes place this winter as required," he said when asked by city councillor Cory Vanthuyne what would happen if there were winter freeze ups, back ups or collapses to the pipes.

"It looks like we will approve the borrowing and the project and things will move forward this fall. However, that won't help residents of Northland if we come into the winter and there is another collapsed water main or sewage line," said Vanthuyne.

YK Condo Board 8 infrastructure committee member Wade Friesen said the condo board still owns the infrastructure and there is a capital reserve fund to address breaks that may happen this coming winter.

"There hasn't been construction, but there are surveying out that are plotting lines and people doing line locates out there," said Friesen. "I knew it would be hit and miss on getting construction started this year and there have been a couple of holdups.

"With the summer coming to a close it would have been hard to put it out to tender for someone to have the time to do it anyway."

Starting again in the spring may be better because the project will begin at the start of construction season, during which contractors will have more time to take it on and there could be more competition, he said.

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