Ampere, Uquutaq Society both operate non-profit programs in the city
The City of Iqaluit’s planning and development committee approved a 50 per cent development fee exemption for projects Uquutaq Society and Ampere are planning in the city. (File photo by David Venn)
Arty Sarkisian
Uquutaq Society and Ampere will both get a break on development fees for new spaces they are building in Iqaluit.
The city’s planning and development committee voted Tuesday night to cut in half the fees the groups will be charged.
“We thank the City of Iqaluit for this. Any money that we save on fees like this will ultimately go toward continuing to offer free programming both here in Iqaluit and throughout the territory,” said Kevin Kelly, associate director of Nunavut operations for Ampere, in a phone interview Wednesday.
Ampere, formerly known as Pinnguaq Association, is a non-profit that provides science, technology and arts courses in rural, remote and Indigenous communities across Canada, including Nunavut.
Kelly said Ampere hopes to start construction next spring on a new learning space in Iqaluit near the Road to Nowhere and was due to pay $57,804 in water and sewer development charges.
Those charges are applied to all new developments within city boundaries. They are used to offset some of the financial burden that comes with new construction due to additional strain on the city’s sewage, electrical grid and water supply systems.
The city has the option to grant full or partial fee exemptions to Iqaluit-based non-profits.
Ampere applied for a full exemption. However, the planning and development committee voted Tuesday to grant a 50 per cent reduction, cutting the fee Ampere will be charged to $28,902.
The committee also voted to cut Uquutaq Society’s development fee on a mixed-use 27-unit residential building it’s planning to $56,151, down from $112,303.
A spokesperson for Uquutaq Society, which operates a men’s homeless shelter, transitional and low-barrier housing in Iqaluit, was not available for comment Thursday.
The committee’s decision still requires final approval from city council, which meets next on Sept. 9.