The Municipality of Jasper will have to borrow an unspecified amount if council decides to undertake an estimated $7.63 million in additional repairs for wildfire-affected utilities.

On Tuesday (May 12), committee of the whole recommended council amend the 2026 capital budget to include this second phase of repairs. This will allow work to move forward.

Committee also directed administration to present a borrowing bylaw to council when actual project costs and the provincial contribution are confirmed. The Province would cover between $2 million and $4 million, while the remainder would be funded through borrowing or reserves.

“There’s some uncertainty and some risk,” said CAO Bill Given. “Administration believes that it’s manageable risk and that what we would ultimately come forward with a borrowing bylaw would be significantly less than the total estimated project budget.”

Council previously approved the $2-million first phase, which will replace curb stop valves in wildfire-affected neighbourhoods.

The second phase focuses specifically on the 700 block of Connaught Drive; the 700, 800 and 900 blocks of Patricia Street; and the 800 block of Geikie Street. These areas suffered damage from response and recovery activities during the Jasper wildfire.

Only part of the project would be funded by provincial recovery funding, because it involves refurbishing aging infrastructure that could fail if components are replaced or reconnected.

Given said replacing this aging infrastructure would have likely occurred at a slower pace over five to seven years had it not been for the wildfire.

Doug Olthof, director of recovery, said they would pursue grant funding from higher levels of government, and the provincial funding would be on the higher end of the $2 to $4 million range while $7.63 million was “a conservative approach to estimate.”

“We expect the total cost of this project will likely be significantly less than that,” he said.

Olthof warned delaying the project could result in increased costs due to inflation, eliminate efficiencies gained through co-ordination with active rebuilding work and prolong operational risks associated with aging and damaged infrastructure.

Green space plan

Council is interested in seeing a new plan for green spaces in town that would replace a two-decade-old version

The plan would provide council with an updated framework to guide decisions related to parks, trails, open spaces and environmental management.

The original plan was presented to a previous council in 2003, but it was never recorded as being endorsed. However, it did serve as a resource document for the 2011 Community Sustainability Plan. The current council decided to revisit this matter after Coun. Danny Frechette brought it up at a meeting last month.

Isla Tanaka, town planner, said the Municipality had completed projects in multiple priority areas. She also noted the community context, environmental considerations and municipal priorities have changed significantly over the past two decades.

The plan would be updated to include considerations such as FireSmart principles, climate adaptation, active transportation planning, accessibility, ecological management and evolving community needs.

Coun. Wendy Hall said this could be an opportunity to work with Indigenous partners on how public areas would look as they are rebuilt post-wildfire. She also wanted to better connect the rebuilt Cabin Creek area to the rest of the community.

Committee directed administration to refer the financial cost and available grant funding for preparing a new green space plan to the fall budget discussions.

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