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HISTORY
& NEWS
November,
2002
Early
November saw some bitter cold temperatures and a carpenter employed at
the site of the new jail called about renting an 8' x 8' storage space.
He explained that he wanted the space to set up a bed and wondered if I
would let him live there. I refused because a person can't live in
a storage unit with no services whatsoever. He explained that even
making $32.00 an hour, it took him 5 hours a day just to pay for a room
downtown. Recently cut back to 8-10 hours as winter daylight faded,
he saw no advantage in staying to work in Yellowknife unless he could reduce
his costs.
December,
2002 to April, 2003
Discussions
with Planning & Lands (Development Permits) and Building Inspections
(requirements for occupancy) as well as some of the City Councillors was
somewhat encouraging. Most saw a critical need in the city for economical
housing for temporary workforces and for the working poor in Yellowknife
who couldn't afford to rent an apartment at monthly rates of $1,200 - $2,000.
One hitch was the temporary granting of a development permit, however at
the time they informed me that it would last for 2 years and then would
have to go to Council for annual extension. I figured I could live
with that.
Inquiries
to ATCO and TravCo led to one set of well maintained buildings that was
being removed from the Canadian Military Base at Cold Lake.
May,
2003
Lot
improvement proceeded as soon as the snow melted and the site was finally
level and ready for crushed fill. By mid-May, after nearly 100 loads
of 2" and 3/4" crushed, the pads were ready for construction of the foundation
for the camp buildings.
Over
the long weekend in May, we went to Spruce Grove, Alberta to buy the set
of buildings and arrange for shipping to Yellowknife.
June,
2003 to August, 2003
The
buildings began to arrive in early June and installation went fairly easily.
Roof and floors in the first group of 4 went nicely. It was a time
of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, building inspections, electrical
inspections, mechanical inspections, fire inspections, health inspections.
September,
2003
The
final inspections were done and permits were issued. The camp went
into service during the first week of September.
October,
2003 to March, 2004
The
first winter was brutal. Low occupancy and high expenses. I
held onto my day job to pay the bills and barely made it through the season,
but Marie and I still managed to put on a nice Christmas dinner for the
residents at the camp.
By
this time, Social Services had discovered the place and was putting some
of their clients into the camp. These people had no alternative except
the dismal downtown shelters. I was even invited to participate in
the "HOMELESS COALITION", an informal group including the Mayor of Yellowknife
which met once a month to discuss important issues like buying more mats
for the Salvation Army so the homeless wouldn't have to sleep directly
on the linoleum cafeteria floor.
Like
any group comprised of affluent, middle class bureaucrats, it was a time
for enthusiastic backpatting and for all of them to reinforce the fuzzy
warm feeling that they were actually doing something noble for those wretched
poor folks in our City of Gold and Diamonds .......... and they could talk
endlessly about all the things they could AND would do if only they had
the time, money and the political will to do them.
Spring
also saw the city launch an appeal on the tax valuation for the property.
When it was done, the annual tax bill increased from a total of just under
$1,500 to over $6,500.00 .... retroactive to the date of the original permit
approval. This was a bit of a shock, but not really a total surprise.
April,
2004 to July, 2004
The
summer was modestly busy and it almost looked like the expenses of the
previous winter would be covered and the camp may even show a slight
profit. The permit extension from the city was granted.
August,
2004
Shortly
thereafter, a double registered letter arrived from the city demanding
that the camp be shut down! I had hired a fellow to design and print
a brochure for the camp and a single word - LODGE - had escaped my notice.
City immediately concluded that I was competing with the tourist lodges
and they couldn't have that at all! The Planning and Lands officer,
smirking, triumphantly threw down a copy on his little corner of
the counter when I went to speak to him at City Hall. It took political
action and much letter writing to convince the bureaucrats that it was
an error and oversight only.
If
asked to define a turning point, I would have to recognise this incident
as revealing the true depth of tolerance and encouragement from the municipal
government.
During
August, construction began on the kitchen/dining/recreation addition between
the 2 wings of the camp. This required completion of electrical and
fire alarm wiring into the next 4 dorm cars. It was again a time
of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, building inspections, electrical
inspections, mechanical inspections, fire inspections, health inspections.
September,
2004 to March, 2005
The
winter was a little easier than the previous one and some of the residents
had been there for several months. Income seemed to be a little more
stable and at least the expenses were covered for the most part.
April,
2005
The
addition was nearly complete and the weather was getting a little milder.
May,
2005 to July, 2005
With
the completion of the addition, the next 12 rooms were finished and ready
to occupy. It was also time to ask City Council for another 1 year
extension. The main concern at the committee meeting prior to the
vote in Council was whether the camp was competing with the big hotels
downtown. Most of the people arriving at the camp would have
otherwise ended up at the shelters downtown instead of the hotels.
At an average cost per night of $150, a working person couldn't afford
to stay long enough to even find a job.
Council
was mildly sympathetic to that reality and the decision was made reluctantly
to grant another year.
August,
2005 to October, 2005
Some
of the smaller contractors, firms and builders began using the facility
for their staff and a couple of clients had been here for more than a year.
Things were beginning to look pretty good and it kept Marie and I busy
on top of working our day jobs. There had been times yet when
I used my employment income to supplement the camp and keep it going, but
it was less of a struggle than before. Some of the downtown hotels
even started referring customers out here when they were overbooked, which
seemed to happen on a regular basis.
November,
2005 - March, 2006
During
this winter, the camp was busier and even approached capacity for a week
or so. Unfortunately, there was no noticeable pattern and the occupancy
rose and fell dramatically. Most of the operating costs were now
covered, though, and I could start seeing a way to put some cash aside
for future projects and improvements.
April,
2006 - July, 2006
The
early part of this summer was slow and I began to 'pound the pavement'
- going to all the smaller local businesses to bring the camp to their
attention. This had limited results. Again, it was time for
a request to Council for an extension. This time, there were a couple
of councillors who suggested changing the zoning to allow this type of
activity. I declined at the time and felt that it would be more difficult
to sell the property in the future if the zoning were restricted.
I also suspected that the tax rate would increase and there would be additional
requirements to keep operating.
Again,
there was concern expressed that I would be competing with the big hotels
downtown. This seemed to be an ongoing and persistent worry for someone
in the city administration. The permit was extended again, with reservations.
August,
2006 to December, 2006
This
fall brought us around to another municipal election. A few of the
incumbents held their seats and there were a few new faces on City Council.
At the beginning, there wasn't much change. The winter was turning
out to be milder than usual and the costs were not so burdensome.
The annual Christmas dinner was a success....there were 14 people at the
camp, some of whom had no family or friends in town and they seemed to
really appreciate that someone wanted them to share the spirit of the season.
January,
2007 to May, 2007
The
winter passed and for a while the camp was busy, reaching nearly 50% occupancy.
DeBeers (yes, the giant diamond mining company) was squeezed for space
at Snap Lake while they commissioned the new mine and approached me about
a significant number of rooms for a month. It seemed that the hotels
downtown were completely booked for a month. Although that fell through,
it gave me a little bit of an emotional lift.
June,
2007 to September, 2007
It
seemed that things were going pretty well. I was approached by a
backpackers association and invited to join their network. That may
have been a mistake. It increased the profile of the camp.
In August, the new Council in response to my request for an another year,
asked the fire department to inspect the premises. On September 6,
2007, the Deputy Fire Chief hand delivered a letter outlining a number
of deficiencies. Most were minor and easily rectified, however, it
now seems that the fire rating for the walls is not compliant with the
National Building Code (although the existing construction was accurately
noted on all drawings at the time of permit application in 2003) and they
have given me 30 days to comply or close down.
In
the booming building industry in Yellowknife, you can't even get a tradesman
to look at a job before spring 2008. There is no doubt that those at City
Hall are acutely aware of this.
A
preliminary estimate puts the price of compliance at more than $150,000
(a very conservative estimate, at that) and I certainly can't afford to
do that. I also can't dispute the National Building Code.
The
interesting part of all this....
Inspections
and Planning & Lands are adamant this year about not allowing a variance
this year, although application of the same critical inspection would require
upgrade of nearly half of all buildings in Yellowknife.
We
are in the middle of a Territorial election - the voting date is October
1. The last time they wanted to shut me down, I was able to talk
to the MLA's. This time, there are no MLA's sitting because of the
elections.
There
has been a remarkable silence from politicians and bureaucrats at all levels
of government.
One
of the biggest hotels in Yellowknife is just enclosing a brand new addition
to their high priced establishment, and the price just went up to $198
per night. You can form your own opinion.
Yellowknife
is hosting the Arctic Winter Games this winter and there will be a shortage
of accommodation already. Prices are going up.
October,
2007
The
camp will be closed on October 6 and will be demolished shortly thereafter.
There will be at least five more homeless in Yellowknife this winter.
When
I first looked at setting up the camp, it was my hope that I could help
a few people who always seem to be gouged, contribute something of value
to the city and maybe even show a small profit while doing so.
It
could be said that I was misguided and naive to think our local government
would see the merit in that.
© 2007 Third Millennium
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