The Municipality of Jasper will reconsider whether to expand paid parking into the winter as council directed administration to explore the feasibility of a year-round program.

“I believe we’re leaving money on the table by not having a parking program in the winter season,” said Coun. Wendy Hall, who made the motion.

Paid parking, which is free for residents, is the municipality’s only way of getting visitors to directly contribute toward municipal infrastructure and services. Hall has been a strong supporter of the program and its revenue-generating ability.

Council recently hiked rates in order to meet its 2026 revenue target of $1.8 million.

Hall said the fact a seasonal program alone reached this target demonstrated the value of the program and raised the question of why it wasn’t year-round. She advocated for first engaging with local businesses and suggested the winter program could have lower rates or start later in the day to allow tourists to pick up their skis.

Mayor Richard Ireland supported the idea of exploring the change but wanted to broaden engagement to include residents as well, since revenue from this money supported the community as a whole.

“We have as much obligation to them as to everybody,” he said.

Hall also moved for administration to draft a policy outlining how paid parking revenues will be allocated. She said this would provide more transparency for how the money is spent.

Coun. Ralph Melnyk, who was the only councillor to oppose the motion, warned such a policy could restrict council’s ability to make year-over-year changes. Ireland replied a policy would be relatively easy to change but also provide more transparency.

Council is also expected to give the first two readings to the parking authority bylaw next week.

This bylaw, which would rescind the current parking authority bylaw, authorizes the municipality to collect financial contributions from developers in lieu of providing required on-site parking spaces.

Changes include removing the 140-stall cap, adjusting the pricing to $9,820 per stall and expanding the permitted use of revenues to support broader transportation infrastructure.

WWTP repairs

Emergency repairs to the wastewater treatment plant could take six months and cost $718,000, according to a report received by committee of the whole on Tuesday (March 10).

The primary clarifier, which failed last November, is responsible for solids separation prior to secondary treatment. Operating without it puts more strain on downstream processes and increases the risk during higher flow periods, according to administration.

Coun. Wendy Hall asked if staff had any concerns with the six-month wait.

“We’ve been without it for the winter, which is probably a lower flood-event season,” Hall said. “Will we get through the summer?”

Courtney Donaldson, director of operations and utilities, said the failure happened at an opportune time but agreed they needed to get the repairs done quickly.

Coun. Kable Kongsrud asked if the Municipality had any contingency plans.

Donaldson said they were utilizing secondary treatment and could bring in a mobile unit if needed.

“However, I do feel that if we facilitate this repair as quickly as possible, we can resume normal operations as quickly as possible,” she said.

Last week, council approved using $1.23 million from reserves to replace the primary clarifier’s rake arm along with a water supply pump.

With the assistance of Associated Engineering, administration issued a request for proposals for repairing the primary clarifier and received submissions from Ovivo Water and Napier-Reid. It recommended awarding Ovivo Water the contract.

Donaldson said Napier-Reid proposed epoxy-coated carbon steel for the walkway and platform, whereas Ovivo Water proposed stainless steel and aluminum.

“While both meet specifications, epoxy-coated carbon steel may require refinishing if damaged, which could result in additional life-cycle maintenance,” she said.

Neither vendor could complete the project earlier, while Napier-Reid’s bid was $690,000, almost $30,000 less than the recommended bid from Ovivo Water.

The recommended proposal includes $641,000 for the clarifier mechanism itself with an additional $77,000 for non-submerged components.

Council is expected to award the contract next week.

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