Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Jasper Municipal Council approved a pilot project for paid parking this year in the downtown area during its regular meeting on April 20.
Paid parking will be implemented at $2 per hour in the area currently subject to two-hour parking and for the same posted hours with no exceptions for residents.
The program is slated to run from May 3 to Oct. 12, although there may be a delay in implementation.
In terms of what the paid parking system will look like in Jasper, the municipality will begin reviewing requests for proposals this week.
鈥淎 lot of us, when we think about paid parking, think of meters lining the street,鈥� said Bill Given, chief administrative officer for the municipality.
鈥淲ith technology today, that is not a requirement. We will likely have a mobile-app-based solution, which really does reduce the amount of physical infrastructure that鈥檚 required.鈥�
Given added that there would be an option for those who do not use mobile phones or prefer to use physical currency.
The end date of the pilot project was initially proposed for Sept. 30 but got pushed back in recognition that Jasper鈥檚 tourist season goes on until Thanksgiving weekend.
To mitigate against increased visitor parking in residential areas, the municipality will use advertising and signage to direct visitors to free off-street parking lots.
There will also be more patrols and enforcement on vehicles parked in residential areas that are not displaying a resident pass from Parks Canada.
As this is a pilot project, municipal administration will identify opportunities to improve and refine paid parking, and once the program concludes, it will bring forward recommendations to council for any necessary adjustments.
Coun. Rico Damota noted his concerns regarding those who may have mobility issues and businesses that don鈥檛 have back-alley access.
He also advocated for a program that would allow residents to avoid paying for parking if their vehicles were only there for a limited amount of time.
鈥淚 think that if people feel like they鈥檙e getting something shoved in a certain direction that there might be more negative feedback instead of a potential for a better buy-in,鈥� Damota said.
Coun. Scott Wilson said there would be 鈥済rowing pains鈥� and the municipality should move forward with the project while making adjustments along the way.
Wilson added that it would be difficult to determine who should be exempt from paying.
鈥淯nfortunately, downtown cores have paid parking,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e have to be resolute in moving forward with it and deal with some of the setbacks in coming years, and I think this is a great first kick at it and I support it wholeheartedly.鈥�
Mayor Richard Ireland mentioned how paid parking did not discount other potential options for parking and transportation in Jasper, such as shuttle buses.
Operating budget
Council approved the 2021 operating budget with amendments made during the April 20 meeting that will eliminate about $250,000 in proposed spending.
This will not affect the amount of taxes collected but reallocates this $250,000 to reserves, while the budget still increases spending by about $750,000 compared to 2019.
鈥淚 cannot vote in favour of an operating budget with nearly 鈥� well it鈥檚 something like $967,000 of new spending year over year,鈥� said Coun. Paul Butler, who proposed the amendments.
鈥淚t鈥檚 too much so this is a motion specifically to reduce spending this year and only that.鈥�
The proposed budget presents a COVID Recovery Strategy, allocating $1 million of funding towards a tax credit that would be applied against municipal property taxes.
The strategy also includes $775,000 in funding to support more targeted recovery in the form of a COVID relief reserve.
Write-offs
Council directed administration to write off property tax receivable for the provincial building in the amount of $22,743.92.
In January 2020, the municipality received correspondence from Alberta Municipal Affairs stating only 75 per cent of the 2019 tax levy and 50 per cent of levies going forward in future years would be considered.
Council also directed administration to write off utilities receivable in the amount of $44,092.99 for a high-volume user of the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The write-off was recommended due to an unexpectedly high increase in operating costs as a new operator had taken over the plant.
With the new operator in place, the 2020 monthly flow numbers were also not received by the municipality until October that year.
