'Pressure' on city staff didn't come from me, says Konge
Building inspector tells council he felt he had no choice in issuing occupancy permits for unfinished condo
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
If a city building inspector was feeling pressure to grant occupancy permits for an unfinished condominium building partially owned by city councillor Niels Konge, that pressure wasn't coming from him, says Konge.
The councillor's denial of undue political influence comes a day after building inspector Bob Taylor told council his decision to issue nine occupancy permits for the Granite Ventures condo building at 5604 50 Ave. on Nov. 6 was because he felt he had no other option.
"I issued those because I felt I had no choice because of who the stakeholders are and I was under pressure," Taylor said about his decision, a move he later called a "mistake."
Taylor didn't say who he meant by "stakeholders" and did not elaborate to Yellowknifer.
Taylor was testifying before council Monday in an appeal hearing of a city fire-watch order. It was instated after the fire department was called to fight a fire next door to the condo building the very next day after Taylor had issued the occupancy permits.
Yellowknife fire chief Darcy Hernblad wanted the four-storey, partially-occupied 24-unit building vacated after noting the condo lacked protective siding and the fire department had not been alerted to the building's fire alarm during the fire. The city initially issued a 'do not occupy' order before replacing it with the fire watch, which meant occupants could stay but developer Granite Ventures would have to install siding.
Granite Ventures is run by Greg Littlefair, Alex Arychuk and Konge. Konge's construction business was the building contractor.
Konge sent an e-mail to Yellowknifer on Tuesday denying he had pressured Taylor to issue the occupancy permits but did say he had previously been "upset" with the building inspector and had asked city hall in 2014 that he "not be an inspector on any of my jobs."
"The last time I had any dealings with Mr. Taylor was in late February or March," stated Konge.
"He had come unannounced to the Granite site and was giving my employees direction on how to do some work. I was upset that he would be doing that and let that be known."
When asked, as a city councillor, whether he thought occupancy permits should have been issued for an incomplete building, Konge e-mailed back to say - as a contractor and builder - that "life safety issues in the building were 100 per cent completed and it is and was a safe building to occupy."
Littlefair, the managing partner who got the condo project going, described Konge's role as supplying tools and equipment to build the project.
"He was not involved in the day-to-day operation of this," said Littlefair.
- with files from Mike W. Bryant
