Tourism Jasper endorses legacy project that will drive visitation, recruitment and the local economy
Jasper Municipal Council has passed a motion to approve a project budget of $10 million for upgrades and renovations to the Jasper Activity Centre.
The scope of the upgrades include expansion of the Jasper Arena’s dressing rooms, the conversion of the downstairs sauna to an additional washroom and renovations to the change rooms at the Jasper Fitness and Aquatic Centre. The bulk of the project addresses the facility’s operation, accessibility and safety systems, said Chief Administrative Officer Bill Given.
“This is a significant milestone,” Given said after council passed councillor Wendy Hall’s motion to approve the upgrades on May 3.
Funding for the project will come from a variety of sources including capital reserves ($541,000), debentures ($4.4 million) and federal and provincial grants ($5.2 million).
In a letter to councillors and town administration, Jasper’s Destination Marketing Organization, Tourism Jasper, endorsed the project. In the letter, Tourism Jasper president James Jackson encouraged council to invest in a community facility that not only drives significant economic activity but also helps with recruitment of staff.
“Jasper’s Activity Centre is an important venue that drives material visitation to Jasper in critical need periods (winter and shoulder seasons),” Jackson wrote.
Council discussed the need for additional and expanded dressing rooms. Having eight rooms will make the facility more efficient and allow mixed gender teams to dress separately, if required. Those accommodations are difficult to make with the arena’s current design.
“As a parent of kids who play hockey and as a female adult who has played hockey with adult males, sharing a dressing room and a shower is not ok,” said Hall.
Councillor Helen Kelleher-Empey summed up council’s support for the project.
“If we look forward to 20 years from now, it’s important to put money into our assets and grow our assets for our community,” she said.
The motion passed unanimously.
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
