'I feel we will do a great job': Jasper council approves new task force to aid in recovery efforts

It could take months just to assess the damages as Jasper looks at rebuilding, but planning for the arduous task is top of mind for the municipality.

In a town council meeting on Tuesday, four full-time planner positions and one administrative assistant role were approved to support the municipality's recovery and rebuilding efforts post-disaster.

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The positions are part of a bigger picture to migrate land use planning and development approval authority from Parks Canada to the municipality.

"It's always been a challenge to build within the national park … the amount of staff dealing with permits sometimes bogs the process down," said Coun. Scott Wilson.

"I think there's an opportunity to work with Parks Canada's development office and add more resources to our office at this point to facilitate the influx of applications," he added.

Providing densified and sustainable structures is one of the opportunities that Wilson can see in Jasper's future. If the municipality becomes responsible for the town's land use and planning, rebuilding the town could be expedited.

"Let the federal government focus on the park as a whole, but let the municipality deal with all its inner workings. I feel we will do a great job," Wilson said.

According to Wilson, the approved town planners will work closely with the Development Office of Parks Canada but won't have permissions to expedite building permits. However, Parks Canada is planning to expand their efforts to get permits approved quickly.

The total annual cost for the new positions, which includes benefits, travel and accommodation, is projected to be $850,500. Funding for the new positions will be taken from the Alberta Disaster Relief Program.