The Jasper Seniors Society received welcome news on the future use of its lease of the Seniors Lounge at the Activity Centre during its annual fall dinner on Thursday (Oct. 24).
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland capped off the dinner at Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge with remarks as well as a special announcement that council extended the Jasper Seniors Society’s lease for the Seniors Lounge at the Activity Centre by another four years.
“We have directed staff to go out and speak with any organizations that might be interested in looking at the development of a real senior centre,” Ireland said.
He noted this engagement would include the Alberta government, which will have to rebuild Pine Grove Manor and may be able to include an accessible space for local seniors in the new structure.
“That presents an opportunity, and as you've seen in recent months of the fire, the province has more eyes on Jasper,” he said.
The municipality had been considering taking over the lounge for administrative purposes, particularly as more staff are hired as part of the wildfire recovery and staff are already sharing offices.
Originally called the Senior Citizens’ Room, the lounge has been a dedicated place for local seniors since 1974. The Jasper Seniors Society use it for meetings, activities, socializing, coffee chats and informal discussions. It also shares the space with other groups.
Mayor Ireland gave credit to the executive of the Jasper Seniors Society for their advocacy to council.
“They persisted in advocating for seniors in this community, and they have been heard,” he said.
Janis Marks, president of the Jasper Seniors Society, thanked the membership for speaking up and ensuring local seniors continued to have a space to call their own.
The Seniors Fall Dinner normally takes place in the multi-purpose hall in the Jasper Activity Centre, but due to not being available, Alpine Summit offered to house the get-together and provide the food.
Unlike previous years, this fall dinner was available to not just society members but all local seniors to give them a chance to reconnect following the last three months of wildfire-related hardship.
The society currently has 175-plus members.
