User fees down, but energy bill cut by thousand

Recent renovations to the Jasper Activity Centre have saved the municipality thousands of dollars in heating and electrical bills, according to town administration.

The culture and recreation department delivered its year in review report to Jasper Town Council on Monday, and noted while usage numbers are down from the 2006 peek, the municipality is saving more than $50,000 on energy and gas bills.

According to the report, Jasper’s gas bill has been cut in half since 1993.

Gas bills in 1993 were 113,552 for the recreation centre, however today the town is only paying $60,353. Much of that savings is attributed to renovations to the centre, and the town expects savings to increase after the $4.5 million renovations currently under way at the centre.

Electricity bills for the centre also dropped from $75,111 in 1993 to $46,000 in 2008.

Manager of aquatic services Natasha Nowlan delivered the report to council, noting that the activity centre brought in $43,832 in revenue from sports camps last year, and another $200,000 in visitor spending.

When asked why fee revenue had dropped so sharply, from $131,000 in 2006 to $97,000 in 2008, however Nowlan attributed that to the strength in the economy in 2006. That year also saw more employees in town, as Kinder Morgan workers frequented the activity centre in 2006 while working on the pipeline.

“Speaking of the aquatic side, pool use is also dependent on weather. If it’s too hot or too cold, people come to the pool,” Nowlan said.

The town also received revenue through hosting a series of larger events, such as the Edmonton Oilers training camp, a conservative convention and the rodeo.

The culture and recreation board also gave out $116,079 in gifts in kind during the 2008 season, $54,000 of those gifts going to children’s passes. The gifts in-kind also include free memberships to town staff and council, as well as breaks in rental agreements.

On the aquatics side, swimming lesson revenue was reportedly up 25 per cent, Nowlan said, and a partnership with ParentLink has resulted in the creation of a toddler time lesson block in the pool.

While preparing for the next phase of the renovation, Nowlan said the activity centre is facing several challenges, such as maintaining staff and co-ordinating user groups during the curling rink reconstruction.