Demolition of the old high school is imminent, as the contractor looks to remediate the land it sits on well ahead of its December 2015 deadline.
That means council has to agree on a concept plan for the land sooner than was originally expected. To help them do that, administration presented the mayor and council with a proposed plan to be voted on at the Aug. 5 regular meeting.
That plan is to do exactly what was agreed upon in the 2011 land swap agreement with the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division (GYPSD). In other words, administration is proposing council agree to turn the old school land into an open recreational space comparable to that of the bowling green—before it became home to the brand new joint school facility and before it was used as a temporary off-leash area.
“We examined the options and would like to be able to go to GYPSD and Alberta Infrastructure with a concept plan for a multi-purpose area, which we think sort of captures the contemporary picture of what the bowling green was,” said Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer for the town.
“So the layout of the exchange lands would include the addition of top soil, sod and an irrigation system to allow it to thrive, and turf that would endure high traffic events, like festivals,” explained Bruce Thompson, director of operations. “There’s an allocation for replacement trees—one to one—from the bowling green and that has been quantified. There is an elk fence provision for the perimeter, as well as four man gates and two equipment gates, as well as some curb work.”
The result will be a multi-purpose area with an open field, as well as picnic areas.
All of that work is to be done at the expense of GYPSD, which in accordance with the land swap agreement, put aside $770,000 to remediate the land.
The municipality and school division entered into that agreement—which saw the municipality swap the bowling green on Bonhomme Street for the old school grounds—in 2011 after 60 per cent of voters supported it in a community-wide plebiscite.
Since then there has been much talk about the exchange lands and what they could become. Many Jasperites, who previously used the bowling green as an off-leash area, feel the old school lands should become a new centrally-located off-leash park. Other community members would like it to become a new soccer pitch.
But, within the plebiscite and the municipality’s agreement with GYPSD, the land has always been slated as an open recreational space.
In response to the concept plan, Mayor Richard Ireland thanked administration for its hard work to get it done on such a short timeline, and he acknowledged that the plan meets the contractual agreements council made with both the community and GYPSD.
“It allows council to honour its commitment to the community to exchange open space for open space,” he said, noting that although this proposal might become the plan for now, it doesn’t prevent the municipality from allowing other uses in the future.
“Even if we accept this it doesn’t preclude other changes or different uses, it’s just open space, which is what we had.”
Council will vote on the plan at its Aug. 5 meeting.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
