Headframe gets stay of execution
President of NWT Mine Heritage Society granted appeal hearing to keep iconic structure from being demolished
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The president of the NWT Mine Heritage Society says he has not decided whether he will chain himself to the Robertson Headframe if that is what it takes to keep it from being torn down.
This drawing by NWT Mine Heritage Society president Walt Humphries shows what he believes is the potential for the Robertson Headframe. In the short-term, Humphries has instrumented a stay of execution for the structure which was to be demolished this month. He now has an appeal hearing with the city's development appeal board which will at the very least delay the headframe's demise. - image courtesy of Walt Humphries |
Walt Humphries made that statement, leaving the door open to drastic measures, not long after learning that the headframe had been granted at least a temporary stay of execution. That happened because Humphries successfully filed an appeal with the city's Development Appeal Board to prevent a permit from being issued that would allow the historic structure to come down.
The city has 30 days from Sept. 8 to set an appeal date. Humphries said he has been given some possible dates - Sept. 28, 29 or Oct. 6. He said he is viewing this at the very least as a partial victory.
In an e-mail to Yellowknifer on Aug. 29, Miramar Mining Corporation spokesperson Scott Stringer stated: "We are just awaiting for final approval for permits and the demolition plan. We anticipate all of these items to be addressed over the next couple of days. Once completed, the demolition work will begin about Sept. 8 with the headframe coming down approximately two weeks later. Cleanup activities will continue until the work is completed in late October, early November."
The main sticking point in preserving the headframe is the estimated $2-million liability for the 25-storey structure that was built at the former Con gold-mine site.
Humphries said it is his understanding that the demolition permit can not be issued while an appeal is before the appeal board.
Whenever the appeal is heard, Humphries said he may present a petition to the appeal board that he says has 400 to 500 names on it - people calling for the headframe to be saved from the demolition crew.
Humphries said he feels strongly there is a large groundswell of support to save the structure - not just from people in the city but across the NWT and indeed across the country.
It is Humphries' understanding that about 10 years ago, Miramar promised an additional million dollars to any organization taking the headframe off its hands. Questions to Miramar about details on the offer or whether it is still on the table were not answered as of press time.
"The problem is that (Miramar) has never been willing to talk to seriously to the people - to mine heritage to the people who want to save it," Humphries said.
"My idea has always been that we could form a non-profit organization - the headframe could be transferred into that and the million dollars that Miramar originally promised could be put in a trust fund to cover the liability."
The environmental liability is the main sticking point as far as Humphries is concerned. He said he thinks it's $2 million because that is how much it might cost to demolish the structure in 20 years time. The current demolition and cleanup cost is about $360,000.
"My problem is that whenever I talk to them they tell me I have to have a proposal on the table. So I ask what they want in the proposal and they won't tell me," Humphries said. "Then they say you guys are basically too small and insignificant."
Humphries said he believes the headframe could easily be turned into a self-sustaining tourist attraction. He does not want the taxpayer on the hook for any amount of money above and beyond the roughly $200,000 he thinks it would cost to make it safe for tourists to climb it.
He also said the headframe has the potential to be a life-saver. Many a snowmobiler, boater and ATVer has told him they used the structure as a beacon to find their way off Great Slave Lake and back to Yellowknife when weather was bad and visibility low.
After Monday night's city council meeting, Coun. Niels Konge said he agrees with Humphries.
"Save the headframe, why not?" he said.
"We've seen reports that say it is structurally sound and requires a little bit of maintenance ... It's a landmark for our city - why just knock it down?"
"If we're going to knock a building down just because it shouldn't be there anymore - I think we should start with the one we're sitting in," Konge said in reference to city hall.
