All interim housing units at the museum site are now fully occupied, according to the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre (JRCC).

Michael Fark, Jasper’s Directory of Recovery, also told council on Tuesday (Dec. 16) that the Patricia Circle and United Church sites will be occupied in February.

“Those units … will be the last of the interim housing units, and that will conclude the mobilization of interim housing units,” Fark said.

There will be a total of 505 units—120 dorms, 167 in town, 189 at Marmot Meadows and 29 scheduled to arrive. The JRCC has processed over 900 applications. Offers have been made to all eligible households who can be accommodated, and 16 households are awaiting an offer.

As for the rebuild, 212 properties were in the prepare and design phase, 61 were in the application process, 32 had a building permit approved, 59 were under construction and 10 had finished buildings.

Permit turnaround times for complete and conforming applications have decreased by 60 per cent—from an average of 50 business days in January to 20 business days in November, Fark said. 

The JRCC is working with external engineering consultants to finalize defining the scale and scope of damages to municipal water and wastewater infrastructure caused by the wildfire and reconstruction efforts.

A detailed report is expected early next year, which will allow the Municipality to make plans to address these damages.

Provincial electoral boundaries

Council is signing off on proposed provincial electoral boundaries that will have Jasper join Banff and Canmore.

Although not required to provide consent, council directed Mayor Richard Ireland to provide a written submission to the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission indicating its support.

While the Banff and Canmore mayors support this change, Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert criticized calling the riding Banff-Jasper, saying his town’s name should be included since it was the largest municipality in the proposed electoral division, as per the commission’s own naming rules.

“This is not anything against Banff or Jasper,” Krausert said at a Dec. 2 council meeting. “In fact, we have good relationships with Banff and Jasper, but I just believe the naming protocol should be used.”

Canmore council moved to send a letter to the commission and for Krausert to appear during the public hearing. He suggested as an alternative Canmore-Banff, Canmore-Banff-Jasper or Canmore-Jasper.

Jasper Flyers Skatepark

Council also approved the formal naming of the new skatepark as “Jasper Flyers Skatepark” and accepted donations from the 4M Charitable Foundation and David Morris Family Foundation in the amount of $100,000 each. One of the conditions to the donation was naming rights.

Councillor Wendy Hall spoke to the community feedback she’s received about the naming of the skatepark. She said lead skatepark organizer Darrell Savage was able to use the donations from those early donors to leverage grant money, which ultimately paved the way for the park.

“I don’t think that anybody in this community doesn’t know that Darrell Savage was behind this project coming to fruition,” she said. “There’s not a member of this community that doesn’t understand and appreciate his hard work.”

Housing vacancies

Former councillor Scott Wilson has been appointed to fill the vacant public-at-large director position for the Jasper Municipal Housing Corporation (JMHC).

The term ends on March 1. Wilson was also founding chair of the JMHC.

Additionally, council directed administration to initiate recruitment for the five public-at-large director terms expiring simultaneously.

Peter Shokeir // info@thejasperlocal.com