Future plans to establish a culinary school in Jasper are one step closer to becoming a reality after representatives from Grande Prairie Regional College met with local representatives, May 3.
GPRC hosted a roundtable session with representatives from town council, the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce, the Jasper Royal Canadian Legion, Tourism Jasper and Parks Canada to determine the level of support needed to proceed with the project.
Although nothing has been finalized, GPRC president Don Gnatiuk said it was a step in the right direction.
鈥淎t this point what we鈥檙e trying to understand is if there is a true commitment from the community to go ahead with this project,鈥� said Gnatiuk, following the meeting.
鈥淎fter today鈥檚 meeting, we feel there鈥檚 a real push to go forward and explore this further.鈥�
During the meeting, GPRC announced that it will spend the next six months exploring its options and will hire consultants to carry out further research.
鈥淭he cost of that research is on us. That鈥檚 our commitment to this project,鈥� Gnatiuk said. 鈥淲e want to understand what it is exactly that the community needs and how strong that commitment is.
鈥淎fter we know that we鈥檒l go forward with the next steps.鈥�
The college and the municipality started discussing the idea in 2014 when GPRC pitched the legion as a potential home for its culinary program.
That year the college met with members of council, the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce, the Jasper Hotel Association, Parks Canada and Habitat for the Arts to gauge the community's interest.
At the time it received enthusiastic support and GPRC has since been working with the provincial government to secure funding to make the project a reality.
鈥淭here was a bit of a lull in the project because of the switch in governments during the last election, but now we鈥檙e back at it鈥� Gnatiuk said.
If the college sets up shop at the legion, it would help the organization, which has been struggling financially since 脡cole Desrochers moved out of the building and into the new joint school facility in 2014.
That move resulted in a significant loss of revenue for the legion, because it has had to continue to pay for the building鈥檚 utilities and upkeep while no longer collecting rent on half its space.
鈥淲hen the Francophone school left it was a big loss,鈥� said Ken Kuzminski, president of the legion. 鈥淏ecause the place is already set up as a school we started having discussions with the college about the possibilities of using the space.鈥�
Despite its need for extra revenue, Kuzminski made it clear that the legion wants to work with partners that are the right fit for the community.
鈥淭here have been lots of ideas thrown around for the legion, but I think one thing we all agree on is that we鈥檙e looking for something unique for Jasper,鈥� Kuzminski said.
Although nothing has been finalized regarding a location for the potential school, Gnatiuk said the legion has been a strategic business partner since day one.
鈥淚t seems like a mutual solution. The legion needs something and we need something," Gnatiuk said. 鈥淏ut what we need to look at now is if this is going to be an incremental project, if it will be a big project or if we鈥檒l start somewhere in the middle.鈥�
Should GPRC decide not to move forward with the legion, Kuzminski said he would still support the college鈥檚 endeavours in town.
鈥淚 will be working with our partners to see if there is a role we can play. We still have the facility, but anything is on the table,鈥� Kuzminski said. 鈥淲e could tear down the building and build a whole new facility or we could renovate the existing one or just keep it how it is.鈥�
While the college is eyeing a culinary program, Gnatiuk said that doesn鈥檛 mean that鈥檚 all the school will offer.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not putting limitations on anything right now. It鈥檚 really a breadth of opportunity,鈥� said GPRC vice-president Susan Bansgrove. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a full circle of options from ecotourism to everything to do with culinary and its various versions like tourism culinary and things like that.鈥�
The college is also looking at offering hospitality courses to help hotels and other tourism operators meet their labour needs.
鈥淭his has been a specific need that the educational community has raised continuously over the years. It鈥檚 also a need the business community has raised,鈥� Kuzminski said. "This would help the community hire and retain staff.鈥�
GPRC is aiming to have their research phase completed by late fall. After that, Gnatiuk said the plan is to come forward with some sort of statement outlining what exactly the college plans to do in Jasper.
鈥淏y that time we hope to know what works and what doesn鈥檛 work,鈥� Gnatiuk said. 鈥淲e want to be able to say 鈥極kay, we鈥檙e pursuing this, this and this.鈥欌��
Mayor Richard Ireland said the meeting was "very significant" and he is excited to see what becomes of the partnership.
"This is something that's filled with opportunities," Ireland said. "We've had a lot of support and the anticipation is that over the next few months we鈥檒l figure out some models that could work and make sure we assess all those options."
Kayla Byrne
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