Bylaw officer adds enforcement presence downtown?

By-law breakers beware: a new enforcement officer has joined the ranks to stop idlers, illegal parkers, and sidewalk cyclists, to name a few.

A Jasperite born and raised, Seamus Mastre, 20, has finished one year of the police foundations program at Algonquin College in Ottawa and is spending his summer as a municipal compliance officer before returning to school in the fall.

He took to the streets with a new uniform and ticket pad on June 30.

When the Fitzhugh caught up with him one morning last week, he’d handed out two tickets for traffic violations. “I don’t necessarily want to go around giving people tickets all day,” Mastre said. “I’m just trying to make Jasper safe, there’s reasons for the rules.”

Often he’ll approach a driver stopped in the wrong spot or try to find the owner of an illegally-parked car to let them know what they’re doing wrong. “As long as they comply, there’s no reason to be a jerk,” he said.

His boss, Doug Rodwell, chief license inspector and enforcement manager, said bylaw enforcement is very different from what the RCMP checks for.

“They’re separate in that council has the right to make guidelines and our job is to take those guidelines and go forward with them,” he said. “If you deal with the small issues, the large ones tend not to happen.”

An additional full-time, permanent officer has been hired to start by the end of the month to join Rodwell and another permanent employee. These three year-round enforcers will give bylaw enforcement a full complement and allow for daily coverage from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m daily with a strong weekend focus.

Rodwell said it will be the first time in two years bylaw enforcement has been fully staffed. Mastre, a term employee until the end of August, is a bonus of sorts to offer additional support through the summer.

“Seamus’s role this summer is the downtown core, to establish that presence,” Rodwell said. “Because of manning it’s been difficult, but now with the manning it allows us to do that.”

No matter how many enforcement officers signed on, they would not get involved in nighttime mischief and vandalism. “They’ll stay to the daylight hours because it would require further training for them to work at night,” Rodwell said. “That would be a decision by council.”

Though Mastre may not work at night, he can’t help but notice any time people break the rules. “When I’m off duty, I’m off duty and I try not to let it bother me,” he said. “But it’s always in the back of your mind. It’s your job.”

Part of the job description that people may not be aware of is collecting and caring for lost cats and dogs, including those tied up outside stores or left in cars for extended periods. Mastre also gets asked for directions time and again.

“I’ve been part of this community for a while,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to talk to people because I know them, and I know the town like the back of my hand.”

After childhood dreams of playing in the NHL or being a musician in a band, Mastre decided to aim for a spot in the RCMP. “My mom said I would make a good cop,” he said. “I like the idea of interacting with people, and maybe making a difference.”