Jasper council approves EV charging stations, another recovery position

Jasper council approved the establishment of two new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at the Activity Centre parking lot on Tuesday, June 3.

The charging stations will be installed through an agreement with SureCharge Corp. for a term of up to 15 years. SureCharge will bear the costs of the installation and ongoing operation of these stations, although the municipality will handle the snow removal and general upkeep of the lot.

“They plan on having it installed and online by March 2027,” said Mona El Dabee, energy and environment manager. “However, there’s a bit of urgency in getting the agreement signed so that they could get funding [from Natural Resources Canada].”

The two new stations will be Level 3 and able to charge up to four EVs at once. Jasper currently has 11 EV charging stations.

El Dabee said these two stations will use four parking stalls, and the green space around the lot will likely be used for the equipment, which requires 500 square feet.

The power capacity is 180 kilowatts per unit, but that will get split if there are multiple vehicles occupying a unit. In terms of revenue sharing, the municipality will get two per cent of gross sales.

With council members expressing concern last week about the potential impact on the parking lot, it has instructed administration to ensure there is minimal disruption to other uses such as the Jasper Food Bank, the recycling station, sports camps and the daycare drop-off area.

Beth Sanders, director of urban design and standards, said the location with the least disruption would be the northwest corner of the lot. The other two options were immediately north of the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum or next to the lot entrance, closest to the museum.

Coun. Rico Damota said he was grateful for the initiative and happy these stations will be in a residential area.

Construction co-ordinator

Council approved a two-year recovery position dedicated to overseeing municipal infrastructure reconstruction projects.

The construction co-ordinator will also manage cost recovery from contractor damage to municipal infrastructure such as sidewalks, curbs and roads.

Damota asked if this position would primarily benefit residents in the community, particularly those going through the rebuilding process.

Courtney Donaldson, director of operations and utilities, replied that it would actually benefit the entire community.

“The purpose of this position is to prevent the absorption of costs that should not be allocated to the municipality, and ultimately, its residents and businesses end up paying for that if there isn’t proper oversight,” she said.

The provincial Disaster Recovery Program (DRP) would cover 90 per cent of the position’s cost, with the municipality covering the remaining 10 per cent.

Donaldson confirmed this would be a term position and subject to DRP eligibility, which would be confirmed by mid-June.

The municipality currently has 17 DRP-funded positions.

Taxation rate bylaw

Council gave third and final reading to the 2025 taxation rate bylaw, with tax notices expected to go out in the near future.

The municipality will raise $11.8 million through general taxation this year, with $2.59 million from residential and $9.25 million from non-residential.

This does not include the Alberta School Foundation or Evergreens Foundation requisitions.

The 2025 budget calls for a 4.9 per cent tax increase. Last month, council opted not to amend the budget due to the provincial government helping offset lost municipal revenue following the 2024 wildfire.

The Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce was critical of the decision.

In response, council had directed administration to incorporate more non-tax revenue in the 2026 budget and set up a workshop about the tax split between commercial and residential properties before the end of this council’s term.

Waiving utility bill

The municipality will waive an outstanding water utility bill of $5,586.88 from the Jasper United Church, which was destroyed in the wildfire.

Council previously declined to waive the church’s utility fees prior to the wildfire. Since then, the church has been working on paying down the fees.

This reconsideration of the waiver was partially the result of the church donating the use of its land for interim housing, although its offer was not contingent upon the waiver.

Mayor Richard Ireland supported waiving the remainder, noting last week how the church had suffered due to the fire and was being generous by temporarily offering its land for interim housing. He added the waiver will have a minimal impact on the utility budget.

Peter Shokeir, Local Journalism Initiative // info@thejasperlocal.com

The Local Journalism Initiative is a federal 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 uses the LJI to access Jasper-based reporting to better serve its readers and is grateful to The Fitzhugh’s Mr. Shokeir for his coverage.