The municipality brought a familiar face back to Jasper when they hired Dave Osborne to be the town’s new licensing and enforcement manager.

The former RCMP officer served 17 of his 36 years in Jasper, before moving to Kelowna, B.C. in 2005 to work in general investigations as a plain-clothes officer.

After six and a half years away, Osborne said he’s ecstatic to be back in Jasper.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time here over the 17 years as an RCMP officer,” he said. “I love this place. I have a married daughter and a granddaughter here and I’ve got a son here, and many, many friends, so it was great to come back.”

Osborne has been in his new role with the municipality for a month now. He said it has been a bit of a learning curve getting to know all of the bylaws and learning his responsibilities, but it has also been a nice change.

“Thirty-six years is a long time to be a police officer,” he said. “You have to be on guard at all times, (while) with this job, you have to be aware, but public safety isn’t the main issue, it’s good governance in the town site of Jasper. I find that really calming.”

As the manager of licensing and enforcement, Osborne oversees three bylaw officers. He said he has asked his officers to have a firm-but-fair approach, which means seeking compliance before resorting to punitive enforcement.

Although it’s not his mandate to be out working the streets with his officers, Osborne said he’ll be out there from time to time.

“I want to be seen as a face for the bylaw entity, the enforcement aspect,” he said, noting that the reason he’s cut out for the job is because he’s a people person.

“I like to work with people,” he said, “and I have a broad knowledge of policing responsibilities, and I lead by example.”

One of the surprises Osborne has had during his short time heading up the department is how upset residents can get about vehicles parked in residential areas. He said he has received “heated” calls from residents who are upset that a car has been parked in the same spot for more than 72 hours.

“Parking seems to be the big problem area that gets people infuriated,” he said. “But we act on it and so far, it’s been good.

“We get calls and then seek compliance.

“We’re just trying for good local law enforcement governance.”

When he’s not bringing law and order to the town of Jasper, Osborne said he’ll be spending his spare time mountain biking, cross-country skiing and golfing with his sons and son-in-law.

He said he’s excited to once again enjoy the quality of life that Jasper allows.

“For me it’s perfect,” he said. “I’m here for awhile. I don’t plan on going anywhere.

“I’ve got a granddaughter here who I want to watch grow up.”