Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Paid parking will only run during the regular tourist season in 2022, not year-round, with a resident exemption program to be determined at a future date.
On Jan. 4, Jasper Municipal Council also decided to expand paid parking to new streets and several off-street parking lots, while increasing signage and adding payment kiosks.
The parking rates will be $3 per hour for on-street parking and $2 per hour for the off-street lots, with an option of $12 per day in the lots.
On-street hours will be extended to run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Paid parking will be implemented on Connaught Street for another block north as well as Geikie Street between Hazel Avenue and Miette Avenue.
Mayor Richard Ireland opposed an exemption for residents and instead advocated for free parking in off-street parking lots.
鈥淚 have a great deal of difficulty with the notion of exemptions for anyone,鈥� Ireland said.
鈥淭his to me is primarily about managing an asset, and whether the asset is used by visitors or residents, it鈥檚 an asset that ought to be managed.鈥�
Coun. Scott Wilson also expressed reluctance for exemptions, but he said a 鈥渕iddle ground鈥� could be reached between revenue generation and easing the burden on residents.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 lost revenue to give away our parking in parking lots for free,鈥� Wilson said.
鈥淚 think a reduction in rates is acceptable, and I, 100 per cent, don鈥檛 support fully exempting all parking by residents all the time.鈥�
Coun. Wendy Hall noted exemptions were a 鈥渟trange way鈥� of going forward with paid parking in light of issues such a climate change.
Council voted in favour of an exemption program to be determined at a later date, with only Ireland and Hall opposed to the motion.
In terms of what exemptions may look like for residents, the municipality could offer free resident parking for a predetermined amount of time.
Alternatively, a credit system could be implemented where each resident would receive parking credits pre-loaded to their account upon registering.
For 2022, paid parking will continue starting on May 1 and end on Oct. 31, when council will have the opportunity to review it for future years.
Coun. Scott Wilson supported year-around parking in order to save on manpower as well as prevent confusion for both residents and visitors.
Council decided against year-round parking, with many councillors noting how Jasper didn鈥檛 get the same level of traffic during the winter months.
Coun. Ralph Melnyk said Jasper was a 12-month destination but didn鈥檛 have the same winter visitation as Banff, which was located near a city and an international airport.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 enjoy that same volume of individuals to, I feel, justify paid parking at this point in the winter time,鈥� Melnyk said.
Councillors Rico Damota and Helen Kelleher-Empey shared similar concerns.
鈥淔or years, the Chamber and Tourism Jasper have spent millions of dollars trying to make this a year-round destination, but we鈥檙e not there yet,鈥� Kelleher-Empey said.
鈥淚 think everything we can do in winter to lessen the cost for people to come to Jasper is what we have to do for now.鈥�
Administration estimated a revenue loss of $64,463 due to paid parking not operating year-round.
Council approved keeping paid parking seasonal, with only Wilson opposed to the motion.
Operating budget
Council approved its 2022 to 2026 operating budget, which proposes a return to typical municipal operations, according to administration.
The budget calls for significant investments in existing facilities, largely funded through grants, and a strategic phase in of funding to improve water and wastewater systems.
There will also be the addition of new non-tax revenue from paid parking for visitors and a 鈥渃autious鈥� reduction in use of the COVID Recovery reserve, administration noted.
Only two new positions have been proposed, and both are substantially funded through external sources.
These positions are a municipal energy manager shared with the Town of Hinton and a policy review co-ordinator that is subject to receiving a grant from the province.
Prior to capital budget amendments from council, the 2022 operating budget contained a net-tax envelope of $9,407,899, a 16.4 per cent increase over the $8-million net-tax envelope of 2021.
The amendments have since reduced the net-tax envelope by 3.5 per cent down to $9,122,304 on total expenses of $31,272,360 and revenues of $22,150,056.
