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No rent relief for tribal council Gwich'in asked town council for reduced rate to host conference
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, August 22, 2013
INUVIK
Fearing it would be a precedent-setting decision, Inuvik town council, on Aug. 14, unanimously turned down a request from the Gwich'in Tribal Council to pay a reduced fee to rent conference space at the Midnight Sun Recreational Complex.
The request had been made Aug. 12 at a committee of the whole meeting by a delegation from the tribal council.
The council had been looking at an initial fee of more than $15,000 to rent space at the complex to hold a self-government conference from Sept. 10 to 12. The rental period was initially for an estimated six days, senior administrative officer Grant Hood said. That was later revised to five days for a fee of $12,850, he told the council Aug. 14.
The delegation from the tribal council had asked for that fee to be reduced to a flat $5,000 plus tax. At the Aug. 12 committee of the whole meeting, spokespeople explained the reduction in fees would be used to offer expanded programming for the conference, which will be open to the public.
Councillor Alana Mero led the charge against granting the request.
"What's the logic in asking for such a drastic reduction," she asked.
Mero had been absent from the Aug. 12 committee meeting due to work commitments.
"If we open the door to giving a reduction in fees to a government group, then we run the risk of more and more groups asking for one."
The municipal policy is that reductions for renting town space, such as the recreation complex, can only be
granted to non-profit groups.
General discussion followed, including a suggestion that if this exemption was granted, there would be nothing preventing other groups hosting conferences, including organizers of the Inuvik Petroleum Show, from asking for something comparable in the future.
Mero went on to add the Gwich'in Tribal Council, as a government group for the Gwich'in people, does not offer programming accessible to the public at large, which is another criteria for the policy.
"If we do this, any group could think they could provide more conference programming if we charge them one-third of the cost," she said.
She asked Hood whether there was any precedent for such a reduction for a non-profit group.
"There is no precedent that I'm aware of," Hood answered.
Other councillors, including Coun. Kurt Wainman, were in agreement with Mero.
"We just can't do this," he said. "We'd better stick to our policy of offering it only to non-profit groups."
Wainman added that he was pleased the Gwich'in Tribal Council would bring such a conference to Inuvik, and regretted the request had to be turned down.
"I have to commend that GTC for bringing such a conference here, but I think we have to deny this one," Coun. Terry Halifax said.
After the vote was taken and the motion was defeated, Coun. Melinda Gillis asked Hood if the town could send the GTC a letter explaining the decision in detail.
Hood agreed that he would correspond with the organization.
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