Demolitions underway in Kugluktuk
Hamlet building case for continuing care centre
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Monday, September 11, 2017
KUGLUKTUK
The Hamlet of Kugluktuk has been knocking down old garages and moved an old abandoned building, and the latter caught fire Sept. 1.
The structure that partially burned once housed Brighter Futures' and tourism offices. It caught fire shortly after the Terry Fox Run on a Friday afternoon.
"But everybody was safe," Mayor Ryan Nivingalok said.
A water truck was in the vicinity and quick action by those at the scene
resulted in the fire being
quickly extinguished.
RCMP Cpl. Henry Coman said the police are not investigating the fire. The building had been moved in sections to the outskirts of town.
The purpose of the hamlet's demolition projects is two-fold, Nivingalok said. One is concern for children's safety because they sometimes played around the buildings, which date from the 1970s and 1980s.
"So far we've torn down two old hamlet garages and two other private buildings in town that are old and posing a risk to our children," Nivingalok said, adding that another garage is in the progress of being dismantled. The second reason for the demolitions is to clear room for a desired 24-hour continuing care centre, if the hamlet is successful in its bid to convince the Department of Health to approve the facility.
"The prime spot for (the continuing care centre) is where all these garages are being torn down," Nivingalok explained.
The mayor declined to disclose the projected price of the coveted health facility.
"I have an estimate but I can't really put any numbers out right now. We're still in talks," he said.
