Infrastructure Plan for Pond Inlet

2023 / 2024

Pond Inlet is in dire need of Municipal parking.  Unfortunately CGS have chosen to be unhelpful to Pond Inlet and ignore the need to help with parking.  The preference to be head strong against the community will result in equipment damage in the thousands of dollars.  No one seems to have the authority or ability to create a positive working environment. The damage they're doing to Pond Inlet will result in thousands. A considerable number of vehicles and equipment will not have an indoor parking space this year including airport equipment. The community continues to struggle with a temporary water station.  The GN has approved a new station so hopefully, plans will be realized in 2024.  The community is one of the fastest-growing community in Nunavut.  Twenty-two cruise ships visited Pond this year with 9 more having to cancel due to ice / weather conditions and a higher number is expected in 2024.  One cruise line stationied its new cruise ship out of Pond Inlet in 2023. With the regular air travel combined with the chartered visitor traffic, the airport is not capable of handling the volume so this will not be done in 2024.  We will be completing the second phase for the new Fitness Center so that residents have a safe and healthy place to go. The Women's Shelter grand opening is being planned for late October 2023. The first phase of the Men's Shelter is underway.  The main road in the new subdivision was completed in August.  A new road is being built to a popular local beach with the hope to finish it this year..


Municipal Infrastructure

Asset Action Required Problem Summary
Fire Hall New Inadequate space to house two fire trucks, equipment and for training. Our back up fire truck is stored in old parking garage without adequate heat. The Fire Truck is a 2008 Sterling Acterra and is getting worn out and should be replaced. The back up truck is a 1991 GMC C7500 antique and no longer adequate as a back up.
Parking Garage - Hamlet New The Municipality is in dire need of parking space.  CGS has refused to help by stretching out the process vs dealing with Hamlets needing immediate parking. Policies & Procedures have become more important then commonsense. Vehicles have to be left outside during the winter in temperatures -30c to -50c causing major mechanical issues. We need two 140' x 40' x 14' garages to house our growing vehicle and equipment list (7 water trucks and 7 Sewage trucks besides equipment). The Hamlet of Pond Inlet has the capability of constructing these buildings, but we need the funding. All the design work was completed 2 years ago and we're ready to order the steel buildings. The Hamlet will no longer be providing garage space to the airport after March 31, 2024.  
Maintenance Garage - Hamlet New New mechanics garage required - The existing garage is outdated and too small to accommodate the existing Hamlet fleet. The garage is even too small to service a grader without leaving the garage door open and having 1/4 of the machine protruding outside. There is no lift system in place to safely work on equipment. A new building is required to provide ample space, and adequate heating. Some of the building's structure has shifted creating a safety concern.
Hamlet Office New The existing Hamlet building is not adequate to accommodate Administration, Mayor, Council Chambers, Radio and Search & Rescue. The Hamlet building is old and heating cost is substantial. There are many cracked walls and the foundation seems to have shifted making the building unsafe. The sound proofing is inadequate.

Water/Wastewater

Asset Action Required Problem Summary
Wastewater Treatment Renovate The sewage lagoon has been leaking quite awhile. The GN assessed the leak and approved it.
Water Reservoir New The existing temporary water pump station is one of the worse in Nunavut.  We've had extensive water purity problems over the past 5 years. The steady rise in population requires adequate water service to be available. The reservoir needs expansion. The existing water supply requires fencing to keep people, snowmobiles, and animals off the water reservoir to avoid water contamination. This is a water license-compliant requirement. A new water station is in the process waiting for the approval from the Federal & Provincial Government  .

Housing

Asset Action Required Problem Summary
Public Housing New Many homes in Pond Inlet are overcrowded with 14+ people living in them. As our population grows we need more housing units. We currently have a long waiting list for units.  Overcrowding creates devastating mental health issues combined with serious physical and sexual abuse. The Health Centre has reported over 20 homeless individuals in Pond Inlet.

Airports

Asset Action Required Problem Summary
Terminal New The airport terminal is too small to service the Pond Inlet. There has been a substantial increase in the number of passengers using our airport. Pond Inlet is growing in the areas of infrastructure, scientific research and tourism. Construction is commencing on the Baffinland Training Facility in April / May 2024. Visitors by way of cruise ships and private yachts have been increasing annually and they're using Pond Inlet as the starting point to board the ships. The airport terminal is incapable of handling the volume of luggage and cargo arriving so it's left outside. The airport can only handle a small number of passengers at a time so you often see check-in line-ups from the front counter continuing to the outside. Larger bathroom facilities are required. The water and sewage tanks are inadequate. Canadian North's office and the operations office is too small. A larger airstrip is desperately needed to enable a jet service. This would make Pond Inlet an alternative landing hub to Iqaluit, for the Mary River Project and other potential projects.  Pond Inlet would become the airport of choice for higher arctic communities to meet their needs in terms of cargo, food, infrastructure, and tourism destinations such as the Northwest Passage, Lancaster Sound Marine Conservation Area, and Bylot Island Bird Sanctuary.

Solid Waste

Asset Action Required Problem Summary
Landfill Renovate The landfill was never maintained properly and needs to be either closed down and new landfill built or substantial work to clean up the site including a fenced section for all types of solid waste.