Even as the Municipality of Jasper reviews public comments on a proposal to build a town administration and governance facility near the Activity Centre, another option is re-emerging in the downtown core.

The Provincial building, located at the corner of Patricia Street and Hazel Avenue, will be losing a major tenant early in the new year when the Jasper Marketplace moves across the street to a newly-built property. The vacancy could potentially be filled by the town, if an agreement  can be reached between the municipal government and the Province of Alberta.

“If we can negotiate an arrangement with the province, that changes everything,” said Mayor Richard Ireland.

Councillors are scheduled to meet with West Yellowhead MLA Ivan Strang on Friday morning (December 23) to discuss the terms under which the municipality might obtain a lease on the building, Ireland said.

In October, the town’s facility review committee recommended the construction of a specific facility for administration and governance. The group proposed that the 30,000 square-foot building be constructed in the open area between the Activity Centre and the Aquatic Centre on Pyramid Lake Road. 

The facility review committee considered the Provincial building as a potential site for town offices and meeting space, but its initial approaches to the province were rebuffed.

“We made some inquires about actually acquiring the building and we were told that wasn’t a possibility, but since then we’ve come to understand that it might be possible to lease part of it,” said Municipal Manager George Krefting. “There has been some initiative by the province to get out of the real estate business, but this isn’t a building they want to sell right now.”

The Jasper Marketplace businesses, which will move shortly after January 7, only take up 10,000 square feet in the Provincial building. Krefting said that the town has no plans to approach other building tenants, such as the Yellowhead Regional Educational Consortium, to inquire about their leasing arrangements. 

“The vacated space couldn’t provide for all our needs,” said Krefting, “but we could be looking at it on an interim basis. At this time, all options are open.”

Krefting believes that the town needs to consolidate its administrative operations, and soon.

“We currently have people working in three different areas,” he said. The Community Outreach offices are located in the Forabosco building on Connaught Drive, while the town’s corporate and legislative services are based out of the Public Works building on the other side of the train tracks. 

Krefting’s own office can be found in a less than ideal location on the east side of the Activity Centre.

“The current admin building is very much out of the way and parking is a problem ...  it’s difficult for people to get to,” he said.

Building a new structure at the Activity Centre complex makes sense for many reasons, according to Krefting.

“In my own personal opinion, one of the advantages of the Activity Centre area is that it would enable the community to have all the municipal operations in the same spot,” he said.  “It would also provide some opportunity for efficiencies on a day-to-day basis.”

The major sticking point with the proposed development is the price tag. The estimated cost for the new facility ranges from $5.8 to $6.3 million.

The town’s current five-year capital plan includes $4 million for new facilities and the redevelopment of the Activity Centre. The proposed alterations to the latter facility could cost the municipality up to $1.5 million, which would leave less than two-and-a-half million dollars in the bank for any new facilities.

The Provincial building, meanwhile, could provide a location for the town soon, and at considerably less cost.

“I believe it has a reasonable amount of space and a big advantage is that it could become available very quickly,” Krefting said, adding that there are other advantages to basing the town’s day-to-day operations on Patricia Street.

“It has a good presence and it’s close to the downtown area,” he said.

The future development of a “town hall” was the subject of several written comments submitted to the town about the facility review process. 

“There were some,” Krefting said.  “Some questioned the cost for the proposal, but ... there wasn’t that much detail on costs or timeframe. I’m sure that once more detail is provided there will be a number of comments.” 

A letter will be sent to every person who commented and a summary of all the comments made on facility recommendations will be made public in the new year. 

“Hopefully Council will receive the recommendations on January 3rd and we can start making some decisions,” he said. 

Mayor Ireland shares this desire to move ahead with the process, but said that money will dictate the pace of development.

“How and when we implement the recommendation will depend to a large extent on finances,” he said.