Council wants more information before it makes a decision on whether or not to pursue community-owned housing for municipal staff.
That information includes the Town of Banff鈥檚 policy for managing its 33 units.
Mayor Richard Ireland requested that policy during the May 27 committee-of-the-whole meeting, where he also expressed his concerns about taking housing from the community in order to house municipal staff.
鈥淚 think our first obligation is housing generally,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f this community needs housing then we should be pursuing housing for members of the community, not our staff at the expense of the community.鈥�
Community-owned housing was first put on the agenda by Coun. Gilbert Wall in mid-May. After a retreat with staff and councils from the towns of Canmore and Banff, Wall said he realized how far behind Jasper is in terms of municipal housing.
Banff has 33 units that house 50 staff, he noted.
Housing is a persistent issue in Jasper, with the town鈥檚 rental vacancy holding tight at zero per cent for decades.
The hope was the new Caribou Creek Co-ops, built at the west end of town, would alleviate some of that pressure, but even with the last ones filling up this spring, the market saw little to no change.
鈥淭here was an expectation of some liberalization of the vacancy rate and it had zero effect,鈥� said Wall. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still in the same boat we were in prior to Caribou Creek.鈥�
So, it鈥檚 getting to the point where it鈥檚 necessary for the municipality to go down this road, he said.
鈥淎lthough the initial capital payment is quite high, I think the long term gain will be substantial.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 time that we start developing an inventory of municipally owned housing because this issue is not going to get easier,鈥� said Wall, May 27.
The municipality needs, at least, some transitional housing to provide new staff, whether they鈥檙e seasonal or members of senior administration, a place to go when they arrive in town.
That way 鈥渨e can at least get people started, without just dropping them into Jasper and having them draw straws with the housing situation we have,鈥� said Wall.
Currently the municipality has a few municipal houses. One is currently occupied by the new director of operations. Previously, it was home to the director of finance, who lived there for a number of years while she looked for an affordable, permanent home.
According to the town鈥檚 realtors, a 50-unit apartment building could be filled overnight, if someone would just build it. But, with no construction on the horizon, the market is only getting tighter.
Ireland isn鈥檛 convinced, though, that the municipality needs to step in and purchase units for its staff.
鈥淎re we in a spot right now where we do not have the capacity to fill the positions within the municipality because of a lack of housing? I鈥檓 not sure that we have that,鈥� he said.
Either way, before anything moves forward, he wants to know how community-owned housing is managed to ensure fairness and to encourage staff to transition into more permanent housing.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a nest of problems, but I鈥檓 quite prepared to agree that we should consider it,鈥� said Ireland.
聽Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
