There is still hope for the Reuse It Centre, but that hope depends on both residents and council.
The two-year pilot project is coming to an end Dec. 31 and, as the centre is still running a monthly deficit, there has been talk that the end of the project will be the end of the centre. But, according to Janet Cooper, something can still be done.
鈥淚 thought, 鈥榠s there anyway we can salvage this?鈥� And then I thought, 鈥業 suppose I could try to put it into my budget, as an environmental stewardship program,鈥� she said last week.
So, come budget time this winter, Cooper鈥擩asper鈥檚 environmental stewardship coordinator鈥攚ill include a line item in the environmental stewardship budget to cover the centre鈥檚 monthly deficit.
But that doesn鈥檛 guarantee the centre鈥檚 future. Council still has to discuss and debate the budgets from each of the municipality鈥檚 departments. So, ultimately it will be up to council whether the centre stays or goes.
鈥淭his is kind of my one last kick at the can, saying 鈥榞ive this one more look before we shut it down.鈥�
鈥淎nd don鈥檛 forget my operating budget is half Parks Canada鈥檚 money and half town tax money, so if I ask for $20,000 to be allocated next year, that鈥檚 only $10,000 from the municipality.鈥�
Last month, the centre ran a $1,000 deficit. That鈥檚 significantly less than any month in its first year, when deficits would come in between $3,000 and $5,000 a month.
In those days, the centre was in the industrial area鈥擲 block鈥攁nd it was paying a high cost for rent and wages. Once it moved into the Anglican Church basement in July, where the rent is significantly cheaper, and after it lowered its wages, the centre鈥檚 deficit has been consistently decreasing each month.
In a presentation to council Nov. 5, Monika Schaefer, a supporter of the centre, said its current deficit is 鈥減eanuts within the overall budget.鈥�
And when asked by Coun. Dwain Wacko whether she鈥檇 be willing to put her own tax dollars toward the centre, she said, 鈥淚 totally support it as a taxpayer.
鈥淚t should be considered a service, just like we have other services,鈥� she said, noting that the municipality shouldn鈥檛 just look at the bottom line when considering a project like this.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not an accurate picture,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven if you鈥檙e only looking at economics, you鈥檙e not taking into account the transportation costs of all the extra garbage, the landfill costs for the extra tonnage that goes into the landfill: those things all cost money.鈥�
There is also the environment to take into account and the social benefits of having a Reuse It Centre, she said, noting that Jasper is a transient community that thrives on the exchanging of furniture and household items each season.
Schaefer鈥檚 not alone in her desire to see the centre remain open. At the last meeting of the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee, the board asked Cooper to exhaust all options, and the congregation of the Anglican Church, which relies on the centre鈥檚 monthly rent check, has also expressed a desire to see it remain open.
The Reuse It Centre is an initiative of the advisory committee.
The committee made the project its top priority for 2012, so in December 2011, Cooper wrote a business plan for it, which resulted in the release of $65,000 from environmental stewardship reserves.
The centre was to be a two-year pilot project subsidized by environmental stewardship funding.
The expectation was it would be self-sufficient by the end of those two years, and any profit made would be used to support environmental stewardship initiatives in town.
The centre is administered by a registered non-profit society, called the Jasper Environmental Stewardship Society (JESS). It would be that society that chose what initiatives to support.
Mayor Richard Ireland told Schaefer, Nov. 5, that no decisions have yet been made on the future of the centre, and no decisions will be made until a recommendation is presented to council.
鈥淲e started this as a two-year pilot project to see whether it would work, and reduction at the landfill was the primary goal. Some of that is being achieved, but whether it can be attributed to the Reuse it Centre is questionable,鈥� he said, referring to the Jasper Buy, Sell and Trade page on Facebook.
But, both Cooper and Schaefer believe, although the buy and sell does do a lot of business, it doesn鈥檛 fill the need.
In fact, Cooper noted that a lot of the things that don鈥檛 sell online end up in the centre because sellers often don鈥檛 have time to see a sale through.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
