Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Jasper Municipal Council approved reducing the speed limit to 30 km/h along the entirety of Bonhomme Street and Cabin Creek Drive along with a portion of Patricia Street.
The speed limit reduction was proposed primarily due to the number of children in the area and the high volume of residential parking along the streets.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be an excellent change along that roadway and the safety for many residents will be better,鈥� said Coun. Scott Wilson during the May 18 regular council meeting.
The original motion called for a speed reduction from 50 km/h to 30 km/h only along Bonhomme Street and Cabin Creek Drive.
Coun. Bert Journault, however, suggested this reduction should be expanded to include the most western portion of Patricia Street (previously known as Patricia Crescent) since it runs between two intersections with Cabin Creek Drive.
Councillors Jenna McGrath and Rico Damota both voiced hesitation about supporting this amendment as the residents along Patricia Crescent were not notified ahead of time.
Coun. Helen Kelleher-Empey advocated for deciding on the matter right away since she was worried about their discissions not going anywhere.
鈥淎s a councillor, (I think) we need to keep these children safe in these areas,鈥� she said.
鈥淚f the residents are not happy, they will let us know.鈥�
In the near future, the municipality will also install a three-way stop in front of the schools and a pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Bonhomme Street and Willow Avenue.
Speed limits will take at least a few weeks to take effect, and notice will be given ahead of time.
Tax rate bylaw
Council gave first reading to the taxation rates bylaw for 2021 and deferred further discussions to next week鈥檚 committee of the whole meeting.
The municipality will have to raise roughly $8 million through general taxation this year.
Most of the discussion revolved around the 5.1:1 ratio between commercial and residential taxation, with some councillors advocating for adjusting this to 5:1 in favour of commercial.
Coun. Paul Butler, who brought this issue up, noted that this change would bring the municipality in compliance with changes to the Municipal Government Act that occurred several years ago.
鈥淚ncredibly, I鈥檝e raised this point every single year I鈥檝e sat on council since 2017,鈥� Butler said.
Mayor Richard Ireland clarified that municipalities with a ratio higher than 5:1 had been grandfathered in, although once a municipality lowers the ratio, it can鈥檛 go back.
Other councillors added how they didn鈥檛 have time to consider the impacts on residents or explore alternative revenue sources for this year and instead advocated for deferring this change to 2022.
In order to ensure that tax notices are sent out on time, the final reading of the bylaw will need to be given by June 1.
Municipal energy manager
The municipality will soon submit an application for a municipal energy manger in an effort to reduce utility costs at municipal facilities.
Council approved the submission of an application to the Municipal Energy Manager Program in collaboration with the Town of Hinton, as this is a joint position.
The new hire will allow Jasper to develop an energy management plan, find energy-saving opportunities and lead energy and GHG-reducing projects.
The program will cover up to 80 per cent of the cost of the manager鈥檚 annual salary through a contribution of up to $80,000.
The municipality will cover the remaining 20 per cent, an expense now outside the 2021 budget and to be approved through the 2022 budget process.
COVID relief reserve
Council approved allocating an additional $396,712 to the COVID relief reserve.
Administration identified this amount as a result of the financial support from the federal and provincial governments and year-end adjustments.
Council has yet to decided what the relief programs will look like, but options include cash grants, utility credits or waiving business licensing fees or other transfers.
Administration will develop programs and bring them forward for council鈥檚 consideration.
Council had already earmarked $1,000,000 as a one-time tax rebate for the 2021 tax season and established a reserve of $775,000 to support a more targeted recovery.
