No rush, just follow through
Criticism from a community member led to a discussion about whether or not the municipality is rushing policies and bylaws through just months before a new council is elected.
The consensus between council and administration was that all of the policies and bylaws being discussed have been in the works for months and have been open to public input during that time.
鈥淣either of these are being rushed through,鈥� said Mayor Richard Ireland, referring to the communications and public engagement policies that were unanimously approved Aug. 6. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been in process for many, many months. There has been ample time for public review and there is no intent to just get them done before an approaching election. The work has been going on for a long time.鈥�
Christine Nadon, communications manager for the municipality and the employee who wrote the policies, agreed and noted that the new polices will allow the municipality to better deal with public input, including criticism.
鈥淐ommunicating proactively in response to these questions and these concerns that come up in the community is exactly what those policies are intended to foster, so that鈥檚 what administration will do.鈥�
A clear fix
Twenty-foot panes of glasses are being air freighted to Jasper from Germany, after the first cuts were sent to the library and cultural centre two feet too short.
鈥淚t was just another one of those things. It鈥檚 bad luck in a way that has dogged this project,鈥� said Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer for the municipality. 鈥淏ut here I鈥檝e got to give credit to Delnor. The measurements left the site as they should have done. So something went wrong in Germany.
鈥淲e were really pessimistic at the outset that this would be a real issue, but they managed to turn it around and the expectation is that that glass will be on site in four weeks.鈥�
The glass delay shouldn鈥檛 have any impact on construction, said Waterworth, because there is still mechanical work to be done during that time.
鈥淎nd again there鈥檚 no cost to us in this.鈥�
The money question
Following an update on the library, Coun. Brian Skehill asked how much additional money the project has cost the municipality.
Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer, responded by saying, at this time, that鈥檚 a hard question to answer.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had the discussion over delays and we haven鈥檛 had a discussion about which of the changes the builders or the architects are going to argue are improvements that we should have had in the first place,鈥� he explained.
鈥淲e have to work out all of those delay costs as we go ahead. There is no real appetite among the builders or the architect to do that now before the building is complete, for the obvious reason that some things keep changing. So I wouldn鈥檛 expect, and I don鈥檛 think the public should expect, to have any clear resolution of that probably before Christmas or early into next year once the building is actually finished.鈥�
Waterworth assured Skehill, though, that as the process continues, 鈥渨here people have made mistakes, we will do our best to make sure it鈥檚 not us that鈥檚 paying for it, it鈥檚 the people who committed the mistakes.鈥�
Hiring progresses for muni director
The municipality has shortlisted for the new Director of Operations position and is now in the process of interviewing.
There were 21 applicants for the job, according to Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer.
As well as members of administration, Coun. Gilbert Wall will sit in on the interview process.
The creation of the Director of Operations position was a recommendation of the Services and Structural Review. It replaces the Director of Environmental Services position and expands it to include more than engineering.
鈥淭here will be much more weight on things like long-term asset management,鈥� said Waterworth.
Joining forces: family services and recreation
Work continues on the task of combining Community and Family Services with the Culture and Recreation department.
鈥淭he way it鈥檚 evolving is very much a made in Jasper sort of process that was kicked off from the [Services and Structural] Review,鈥� said Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 just a little bit too early to say a great deal more, until discussions have been had.
鈥淢ore discussions are needed with a number of stakeholder groups, including staff and outsiders, to see how viable the approach is.鈥�
Following the completion of the review, Waterworth asked that Kathleen Waxer, director of Community and Family Services, and Yvonne McNabb, director of Culture and Recreation, work together on a plan to combine the departments, as was recommended in the review.
Nicole Veerman
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