Municipality hopeful that some will take over responsibility

The Municipality of Jasper inherited administrative responsibility for the seasonal storage lots by the Environmental Services Building from Parks Canada, said licensing and enforcement manager Doug Rodwell.

Although the municipality currently runs the seasonal lots, they would like to see the responsibility transferred to another group. 

“We’re hoping that a non-profit group or organization in the community will see that this is something that they’ll want to come in and take it over,” said Rodwell. The idea for the municipality has been to offset costs, not make money, he added. 

There are about 160 items spanning the three lots: one for trailers, one for vehicles and one for boats. Rodwell hopes that this arrangement will be formalized in the future and lots administration can be more coordinated. He is looking to remove all the trailers, stake out parking spots and then assign specific spots to trailer owners. 

Right now, Rodwell or one of his bylaw officers has to grant access to trailer owners, but he is hoping that some kind of swipe card access can be installed, so that bylaw presence is no longer required. At least 24 hours notice is required for guaranteed access to the lots, otherwise access is not guaranteed. 

As bylaw 112 currently stands, property owners will be entitled to six no-fee lot accesses per year. That means three in-and-outs for each piece of property for which a registration fee has been paid. “Our thoughts here are, most people probably take their stuff out for one big vacation a year and then maybe a long weekend and that’s what we see for movement here,” said Rodwell, adding that “if we see more, then maybe we’ll have to adjust things.”

For 2009, storage fees are $200, the short-notice access fee is an additional $25 and an additional access fee is $20. These rates are scheduled to increase in 2010 and 2011. All vehicles in the lots require insurance and registration and you park at your own risk.