Waiting on certification
After three years of waiting, the municipality is now three months away from receiving LEED certification—and finding out its rating—for the fitness centre.
The final submission, after many, has been completed and now it’s just a matter of time.
“It’s been since 2011 to get to this point,” said Yvonne McNabb, director of culture and recreation.
“It takes an extremely long time to jump through all of their hoops and fill out all of their paperwork and answer all of their questions.
“Every time you think you’re finished, you get an email saying, ‘I need more information on this boiler system or whatever.’ It’s definitely been an interesting process.”
LEED is an internationally recognized green-building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building was designed and built using strategies to save energy and water, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve indoor environmental quality.
The fitness centre was designed to reach a Gold rating.
Temporary library looking for heat
The temporary library has been without a working rooftop heating and cooling unit since April, and the municipality is now looking to replace it in time for winter.
“The quote that came in is coming in at $80,000 right now, which seems to be really absurd in my books for a 1,400 square foot area,” said Yvonne McNabb, director of culture and recreation.
According to McNabb, the contractor’s quote is for a custom build, but a standard unit should be adequate.
“I still can’t understand why they need a custom build because we have a curb up there.”
McNabb has requested that the contractor return and take a second look, and she has also contacted two other companies, asking for quotes.
In the meantime, the municipality is considering temporary heating systems for the space.
“If we have to rent a system that will take care of it until we can get a rooftop unit in, so be it,” she said. “But we would ideally like to have that rooftop unit in in the next six weeks.”
Once the library moves out of the space—which is located in the Jasper Activity Centre, beneath the bleachers—the culture and recreation department hopes to turn it into a storage space.
McNabb said it will still need heat then because there are water lines running through that area, and without heat in the winter they would freeze.
What makes you unique?
More than 200 Jasperites have donned their best smiles for Community Outreach Service’s diversity project, allowing photographer Brian Van Tighem to snap their photo.
The project is meant to demonstrate and celebrate Jasper’s diversity, by showcasing the many faces of the community. While in front of the camera, participants are asked to hold up a hand-written sign that explains what makes them unique.
Kathleen Waxer, director of community and family services, said the hope is to collect at least 100 to 200 more photos and to then showcase them in an exhibit, as well as turning them into posters and banners to put up around town.
The posters will include messaging provided by the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association’s Welcoming and Inclusive Communities team.
That messaging reads: “That’s the beauty of diversity—we’re all unique and when we embrace our differences and combine our strengths, truly remarkable things can happen. Together we can shine.”
Waxer encourage councillors, as well as the mayor, to join the project by sharing their own unique qualities in a photo.
Twin municipalities conference in Jasper
Jasper will play host to the Alberta/Japan Twin Municipalities Conference in 2015.
The conference, which runs from June 26 to 27, will take place while a delegation from Jasper’s sister city, Hakone, Japan, is visiting.
The conference, which is held in a different Alberta town each year, usually attracts about 70 delegates.
Council unanimously supported hosting the event in Jasper next year, and appointed Coun. Brian Nesbitt as the conference chairman.
A preliminary budget of $10,100 was also approved.
Nicole Veerman
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