Regional grant approved
The municipalities of Jasper, Canmore and Banff have received a $170,000 regional collaboration grant to explore the cost differences between running a tourism-based municipality and a traditional town.
“We are now awaiting the formal paperwork to sign off on so that the tendering process can go ahead,” reported Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer.
A tender will go out in search of a consultant to undertake the research, and once a report is completed, the municipalities will use it to lobby the provincial government for resort municipality status.
Currently, tourism-based communities like Jasper, Banff and Canmore are treated like any other municipality in Alberta, while in British Columbia, a community like Whistler receives a portion of the provincial hotel tax, as recognition that it’s in a unique position compared to other municipalities.
That unique position includes providing infrastructure for a huge volume of visitors that well exceeds the number of residents—and taxpayers—that live within the community.
In the proposal submitted to the provincial government, the three municipalities provided stats to express how difficult it is to rely solely on property taxes to cover those infrastructure costs. Also included were stats to highlight the economic benefit the province receives from the three municipalities.
“I think it’s a fairly powerful and compelling case,” said Waterworth, noting that it is “backed up with a number of projects that the communities have been unable to fund, but are necessary for tourism development.”
Tax assessment open house
Tax assessments for the 2014 year have been sent out and should be arriving in mailboxes any day now.
Home and business owners will notice that tax mill rates decreased by a small margin this year.
That decrease is the result of minor decreases in the requisitions from the Alberta School Foundation and Evergreens Foundation.
Residents have until May 12 to appeal their assessments.
There will be an open house April 16 at the Jasper Activity Centre if anyone has questions.
Capital budget approved
With six of seven councillors present, the 2014 capital budget was approved, with a vote of five to one.
Coun. Vonna Arsenault was the only councillor to vote against the motion, and Coun. Rico Damota was absent.
The 2014 capital budget is in the amount of nearly $4.6 million and includes funding for everything from the library and cultural centre to pavement and utilities for the 800 block of Connaught Drive, sidewalk paving for the Caribou Creek Co-ops, paving at the waste water treatment plant, repairs to the firehall roof and hose tower, new large garbage bins to replace the dilapidated ones around town, a tandem dump truck, a garbage truck and a bylaw vehicle.
Compared to previous years, the 2014 budget is minimal. For example, in 2010, council approved a $13 million capital budget. Of that sum, $5.2 million went toward the renovations at the activity centre and $2.14 million was carried over to complete the pedestrian underpass.
Housing shortage unfazed by new co-ops
Only 16 of the 64 Caribou Creek Co-ops remain unfinished, and still there has been no effect on the town’s housing crunch.
This news was reported by Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer, who noted that the housing crisis isn’t spoken about often enough at the council level.
The good news, he said, is that the town’s rental densities are dropping, meaning the standard of living for of Jasper’s residents has improved, because they are no longer sharing apartments with hoards of people.
As an example, Waterworth said, “Let’s say two groups of people have been living together in one house, but one is moving out into Caribou and the others are just staying where they are—the quality of housing is increasing.”
Although a positive improvement for people who already have homes, that movement hasn’t taken any of the pressure off the need for housing in the community.
“As of now there is no sign that the overall pressure of numbers is changing. We are one of eight municipalities in the province which has currently got a zero per cent rental capacity.”
To improve the situation, Waterworth said he’s heard from local real estate agents that a 50-unit apartment building could do the trick, or at least take some of the pressure off.
“So we remain in a very tight environment, with not much movement in the purchasing market and a very tight rental market.”
Nicole Veerman
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