RCMP update
Corp. Ryan Gardiner presented his quarterly stats to council, Sept. 16, and said “overall we had a pretty good summer.”
Although some stats were up, like domestic assaults and impaired driving, Gardiner said in both cases, the majority of charges were laid on visitors, not locals.
“An increase in visitors means more people who aren’t from town that we’re dealing with,” he said, noting that we had a record summer for visitation. “Our guys have really been out and targeting impaired drivers and we’re seeing increased numbers in that too. There’s people who for some reason drive down to the bars and they drive back to their hotels and we’re catching them at 2 or 3 in the morning.
“I don’t know that there’s much more education that someone can do on that because there’s tons of it out there,” he said, noting that the Jasper Highway Patrol Unit is returning, and already a corporal has been hired to start it up again.
Gardiner said he isn’t yet sure how many positions there will be on the unit.
Racking in the rebates
Since the residential energy efficiency rebate program launched on June 1, rebates have been paid out for LED lighting, four refrigerators and three washing machines.
The program is an initiative of Environmental Stewardship Coordinator, Janet Cooper.
During a report to council, she explained that the program is way of encouraging Jasperites to reduce their energy consumption.
Rebates range from $500 for an energy efficient furnace to $25 for $75 worth of LED lighting.
“Rebates aren’t only for homeowners,” she explained. “They’re also for renters or tenants who are paying their own utilities. They can take advantage through the LED lighting, which is a huge savings, or even in some cases renters have their own washing machines.”
The rebate for a washing machine is $100.
To learn more about the program or to find an application form, check out the municipality’s website and search “Environmental Stewardship”.
Contemplating LEED’s worth
The municipality has received confirmation that the fitness centre achieved LEED Silver certification.
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.
It has taken three years to receive the certification, after numerous submissions.
A plaque will be placed in the fitness centre to commemorate the achievement.
Following the news, Mayor Richard Ireland requested that LEED certification be put on the committee-of-the-whole agenda, so that council can discuss whether the effort and money was worth it.
“It’s not been easy on staff. It’s been expensive to pursue,” he said. “We have a policy that directs us this way, but there might be other ways to achieve the same with less cost.
“I think it’s worth a discussion at another table whether we continue to pursue LEED certification on our projects.”
Nicole Veerman
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