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It looks like the new HI hostel is going to pay taxes just like everybody else.
In Alberta, hostels are specifically named in the Municipal Government Act as being exempt from local taxation unless the council passes a bylaw to say they must pay.
And Jasper municipal council is preparing to do just that at their next meeting.
Councillor Helen Kelleher-Empey said: 鈥淚t operates the same as local hotels, even though it has dorms it has private rooms.
鈥淭hey use all our systems, our water, our sewage. They get billed for water and sewage but for our community to grow we need taxation.
鈥淚 think everybody should contribute. It needs to be a fair playing field.鈥�
In a letter, Johanne Roy, director of Jasper Downtown Hostel, said Jasper businesses providing a similar service should not be subsidising the HI business.
Roy said: 鈥淎s a comparable business model, we duly pay our municipal taxes and feel it is important that businesses do contribute to the municipal tax base.
鈥淲e see no difference between their services and ours.鈥�
The admin department prepared a draft bylaw for discussion at their Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday.
And councillor鈥檚 comments were unanimous.
Councillor Paul Butler said: 鈥淚f it is commercial in nature the responsible thing to do is tax them.
鈥淓very time someone doesn鈥檛 pay taxes or pays less, someone else is paying more.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a pretty straightforward conversation.鈥�
Mayor Ireland and councillors Jenna McGrath and Rico Damota also made comments supporting the bylaw.
Damota said: 鈥淚 think if we鈥檙e going to be competing for heads on beds everybody should be treated fairly.鈥�
The bylaw will return to council for its official first and second reading at their next meeting, on July 16. Once passed, it will take one year to come into effect.
Qs for S-block
They are still waiting for approval from Parks Canada on the design of a new parking lot at the Stan Wright Industrial Park.
And councillors have begun discussing what it is going to be used for.
Potential uses presented were free public parking, commercial vehicle parking and long-term paid parking.
As the area the 76-space lot is designed for is zoned 鈥榠nstitutional鈥�, the council could charge fees to recover the cost of building and maintaining the lot, but not make a profit.
鈥淲hy shouldn鈥檛 people pay for parking? It is no one鈥檚 right to park on public streets,鈥� said Councillor Paul Butler.
Coun. Helen Kelleher-Empey said she liked the idea of paid parking for commercial users.
That business model could see each stall numbered and assigned to people with vehicles like utility trailers, work trucks, lawnmowers and lifts.
Coun. Scott Wilson said: 鈥淭here is definitely a need for these small businesses in town and I think that will get vehicles off the street.鈥�
But this new parking lot is just another addition to Jasper鈥檚 parking conundrum.
The council wants to look at parking in town as a whole - looking at paid parking, resident permits and other vehicle storage in town.
Coun. Jenna McGrath said: 鈥淚 think the direction of this lot we are developing and all of the parking does need to be looked at in a broader strategy.
鈥淎ll the tax increases in the last two budget cycles, really, we need to look at revenue coming into the town.鈥�
Chief administrative officer Mark Fercho told council whatever they decide to use this parking lot for can be changed in the future.
He said he should have a decision from Parks in the next two weeks and there may be stipulations or provisions from them.
