The Jasper wildfire incident temporarily halted work and necessitated additional cleaning, particularly in the Aquatic Centre.

Wildfire-caused delays are pushing the completion of renovations to Jasper’s recreation facilities into December.

The municipality had previously projected that the $20-million project would be completed by the end of the third quarter.

“The primary reason for the project delay stems from the evacuation and subsequent site remediation,” said Christopher Read, Director of Community Development, at the October 15 municipal council meeting.

The July 24 Jasper wildfire halted work and necessitated additional cleaning, particularly in the Aquatic Centre, Read said. Additional scope items, such as a fire alarm system upgrade, have compounded the delays. After remobilizing at the end of September, Carlson Construction resumed activities.

Administration is working with Carlson, and the insurer-provided site restoration company, to ensure the Aquatic Centre and Arena will open in phases as soon as possible, Read said. Contractors are now removing scaffolding at the pool.

“In about a week, we will know whether or not there has been any damage caused by that scaffolding,” Read said. “It would delay the pool’s opening. If there is no damage to the pool, then we’re on a two-to-three-week finish of the work we have to do to get that pool open again.”

Read added that they would have a better idea next week of when the pool and arena will be able to reopen.

Parts of the Jasper Activity Centre reopened on October 1, although work is still taking place there.

The renovation project aims to modernize Aquatic Centre changing areas and fully renovate all existing arena dressing rooms, while adding new dressing rooms.

The project will also address lifecycle reinvestments in mechanical and electrical systems. An elevator in the Activity Centre will improve accessibility.

According to administration, the current budget remains within approved limits, with a forecasted cost of $20,378,245, representing a minor variance of $186,305. Remediation costs for the fire panel and related devices will be covered by the municipality’s insurer.

The project had initially been budgeted at $14 million prior to final approval, but due to inflation, council increased the budget by $6.4 million last year.

The Local Journalism Initiative is a federally funded program which supports the creation of original civic journalism that covers the diverse needs of under-served communities across Canada. 

Content is available to media organizations through a Creative Commons license. 

The Jasper Local, which operates a one-staff newsroom, did not receive LJI funding in 2024 but recognizes the utility of using Jasper-based reporting to better serve its readers and thanks The Fitzhugh and Great West Media for this partnership