Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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"We need to have a day for Jasperites," said councillor Rico Damota at the Jasper Municipal Council meeting on June 9.
"It's time to celebrate our community, it's time to celebrate us."
After conferring with community members, Damota said, "Overall I've been told Jasper needs a big hug right now."
He talked about, for example, shows of support by community members for the town, including folks banging pots and pans in support of seniors during a parade last week and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and said, "There is no shame in patting our [own] backs."
Council will discuss Damota's Jasper Day idea at an upcoming meeting. They also talked about this being a topic of the strategic priorities committee, a committee of all council members that meets a few times a year in camera to talk about ways to implement such priorities.
Deputy mayor Jenna McGrath brought an idea to the table from a community member about having local businesses gather in a market-style way, possibly at one of the parks in town, to sell their wares.
Councillor Helen Kelleher-Empey suggested Robson Park and Centennial Park as possible sites for the event and councillor Bert Journault said focus should not be taken from the downtown area and suggested hosting the event at a park closer to it.
Administration will look into the logistics of the event.
Officially in motion
A decision council made last week to go ahead with sidewalk expansion/boardwalk program, was made official at the June 9 meeting.
Kelleher-Empey made a motion to go ahead with the program, similar to Canmore's.
The motion was supported by all of the council members except Paul Butler. He said he's not convinced there'll be a positive social distancing outcome.
"We'll still have only the width of a sidewalk," he said.
Mayor Richard Ireland pointed out, "This started as a public safety issue. The idea was at least a step in the right direction."
Ireland acknowledged "some will benefit, some will not" from the program, however, "this pandemic compels us to take some sort of action to assist our community鈥�.
鈥淚t's a step that we can take, and ought to be, with a focus on the safety and comfort of our guests,鈥� he said.
The motion goes under the existing Commercial Use of Public Spaces Bylaw, open to all commercial operators as a trial period until October 16, 2020.
Walking on rainbows
Council gave a thumbs-up to the repainting of the rainbow crosswalk on Patricia Street. The costs are covered by the OUT Jasper LGBTQA Society and the painting will be done by a contractor.
