Position review by Parks, town halts stewardship initiatives

Filling the role of environmental stewardship coordinator has been put on hold while Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper review the jointly-funded position. 

The job was vacated recently when former coordinator Nicole Ward, who was set to return from maternity leave, announced her resignation. 

The position was recently posted and then revoked.

According to municipal manager George Krefting, the $50,000 contributed by both the town and Parks for the position may not be enough.

“What we’re finding is that some of the initiatives the position has created, the $50,000 is never adequate to cover the projects plus the position,” Krefting said. “We have to look at the long-term sustainability of the program, and the projects that it is going to support as well.”

The town supports continuing with the initiatives that have been going on so far, Krefting said. “Certainly the municipality is very pleased with the position and the projects that have come out of it.”

Parks superintendent Greg Fenton said the review is part of the normal course of a position becoming vacant. “It gives an opportunity for the municipality and Parks to review the position to make sure it’s doing what we want it to do and if there’s a need for making adjustments, to make those adjustments now to the roles and responsibilities,” he said. 

Currently, the coordinator’s role is “to develop stewardship initiatives and provide the coordination capacity to work with the community and identify actions that meet goals and objectives of the current community plan in the area of environmental stewardship,” Fenton said. 

There is no set timeline for the position to be filled. “We’ve been talking with the municipality and are still in discussions with them,” he said. 

The position will continue to exist, according to Fenton. “Is there going to be a stewardship coordinator position? Yes, there will,” he said. “I don’t think the municipality, and certainly not Parks, is suggesting that we don’t need one.”

Meetings will bring up the base question: is it working well? “If it is, great, let’s continue with it,” Fenton said. “If it’s not doing exactly what we want it to do, what are the areas of deficiencies where we can make changes?”

The coordinator position is funded by both the municipality and Parks Canada as part of a three-year agreement that’s about half-way through, Fenton said. One consideration will be whether the parties want to renew the agreement and commit to longer-term funding. 

Another issue is whether the development of the new community sustainability plan will affect the aims of the environmental stewardship advisory committee. “There might be a need for adjustments, but not a wholesale change,” Fenton said. 

Janet Cooper, who filled in during Ward’s leave, said she’s disappointed about the halt, as she felt the committee had gathered some great momentum especially with its work towards reducing use of plastic bags in Jasper.

“It’s bad timing, but there’s nothing they can really do,” she said. Cooper had planned to present the findings of a public survey regarding the bags at the next town council meeting, an action that will be put on hold until the position is filled.

Though Cooper’s focus has been diverted as she shifts back into her role as municipal communications specialist, she said she will “definitely” apply when the job is posted.

Though it’s unclear when a call for applications will be posted, Fenton said both Parks and the municipality want to get the position staffed as quickly as possible to maintain the established momentum. “But I think whenever there’s a vacancy it’s prudent and responsible to take a look at it,” he said.

“We want to ensure continuity, not to throw out everything the stewardship committee has been doing, but [ask,] is the position playing the role we want?””