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Janet Procure displays the reason for her frustration with the city at the government dock on Wednesday. - Laura Busch/NNSL photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Frustrations over the lack of communication from the city reached a critical point on Tuesday as work crews installed concrete barriers, temporarily blocking access to the government dock in Old Town and isolating a coffee shop from its customers in vehicles.

"We were surprised and shocked and extremely disappointed in the lack of communication," said Janet Procure, a business partner in TJ's Nut Hut, a business located on a private lot in the middle of the wharf property.

Procure said that, while she did know that the city was entering into a lease agreement for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans-owned property, and that environmental clean-up work would be done, she had no warning that barricades would be put up which restrict vehicles from accessing the six or seven parking spaces used by the Nut Hut on the private lot.

"When those barricades went up yesterday, our customers couldn't come in," she said. "There's no parking for them, there's no street parking and the nature of both of the businesses that we have here are not such that people are going to park a couple of blocks away."

They also run Tangletree Gallery on McDonald Drive. The businesses were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday as the operators weighed their options. Procure said she was equally frustrated with the way the city handled her concerns.

"He said, 'It's a minor inconvenience and I don't know why you're upset by it,'" Procure said of the city hall official who spoke to her.

"We make a living based on customers walking through the door and when customers don't walk through the door we don't make a living. That's not a minor inconvenience."

Procure said she was unable to get an exact date as to when the planned environmental clean-up work would begin, or when construction on the property would end. This makes it difficult to make future plans, she said. "Opening up the dock is a great thing, but we should have some consideration in this, too," said Procure.

Earlier this month, the city posted notices on vehicles and boats parked at the dock - some abandoned there for years - ordering them off the site or be removed at the owner's expense. Everything was gone by this week's Sept. 24 deadline. The city plans to create a picnic area and allow for controlled parking and moorage once the cleanup is complete.

Constantina Tsetos, owner of the property in the middle of government dock in which TJ's is housed, said she too was also unaware of the plan to install concrete barriers until they appeared. However, once she contacted the city with her concerns, she was happy with the way it was dealt with.

Tsetos' main concerns were that the barricades blocked off access to service trucks that bring in fuel, water, oil and other basic necessities. City officials met with her Wednesday and agreed to remove one of the barriers and replace it with a movable wooden barrier.

"I'm pleased," said Tsetos. "I have no problem helping the city as long as our needs are met."

While communication from the city to the people who would be affected may not have been ideal, the fact remains that the lot needs to remain clear while the environmental clean-up work is done, said Mayor Gord Van Tighem.

"I was even a little surprised when I saw those barriers last night," he said.

However, Van Tighem said that when the city concluded its meeting with the property owners and one of the operators of TJ's Nut Hut, he was under the impression that all parties had come to a workable solution.

The city has now been informed that this work will not begin for another 10 days to two weeks, he said. Depending on the extent of work needed, the city should be able to officially enter into the lease agreement with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans by the end of October.

While the environmental work is underway, the city is in its planning phase, figuring out what to do with the space. Public consultation meetings are planned for November, said Van Tighem, where residents can find more information about what the city's plans are and voice their opinions of what the final product should look like.

Concerns raised over the concrete barriers should act as a learning experience to the officials working on the project, he said.

"I know that those that are involved are doing their best," he said. "Overall, it's been absolutely amazing how co-operative people have been. It has really transformed the area."

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