Nihtat council buys building
Move expected to save $200,000 in rent
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Thursday, July 28, 2016
INUVIK
The Nihtat Gwich'in Council once again owns its own building after some time without.
Nihtat Gwich'in Council president Jozef Carnogursky, left, and executive director of the Gwich'in Land and Water Board Leonard DeBastien sign a lease agreement on July 21. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo
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"It's always important to own our own home for the members in Inuvik," said president Jozef Carnogursky, adding that the previous building used by the council was sold in the mid-2000s.
For a sum he declined to disclose, the council bought the building from Northern Properties with a 50 per cent down payment. Apart from being a philosophical win for the group in re-acquiring control of its own base of operations, Carnogursky said it just made financial sense.
"We will no longer pay $200,000 a year in rent," he said with relief.
"And on top of that, we're going to be making money by leasing out some of the space."
To that end, Carnogursky and executive director of the Gwich'in Land and Water Board Leonard DeBastien signed a lease agreement for the latter's offices on July 21.
"We have to be aggressive in looking for other sources of revenue," Carnogursky said.
"The funding we get from the government isn't enough."
The major expense of purchasing the building - especially with so significant a down payment - was possible because of the strength of the council's business entities, Carnogursky said.
With its various subsidiary companies, the council paid out $1.6 million in wages in 2015 and brought the development corp. to the best it has ever been, both in terms of revenue and net worth.
"It's all about good management and timing, being at the right place at the right time," said Carnogursky.
