The build included washrooms, family pods, office facilities and a cantina.

Hub Staff

A 1.2 million dollar beach house project was defeated unanimously by Saugeen Shores Council June 26 because it wasn't considered financially prudent. The project, valued at $1,102,788 plus HST, was a culmination of work by Town Staff and the Waterfront Advisory Committee and was intended to replace the current washroom facilities at Port Elgin Main Beach.

Jayne Jagelewski, Director of Community Services, presented the Staff Report to Council and said that the build “raises the bar for existing establishments and their aesthetics for the waterfront."

She continued. “It’s new, it’s modern, it provides a first impression and is operational for staff. It provides an opportunity for year round tourism at the waterfront." Jagelewski added that the cost was within the 1.4 million allocated for Phase 1 of the waterfront plan.

Vice Deputy Mayor Diane Huber said she understood the place holder of 1.4 million was originally intended for multiple projects including promenade extensions and a washroom upgrade and said that over 20 years, with interest on that kind of debt would come in at around 2 million.

“I recognize the need and the value of nicer facilities in that location, I recognize the need and the value for upgraded facilities in that location,” she said. “I just don’t think we can afford this.”

Councillor Dave Myette reminded Council that on the “very near horizon” Saugeen Shores has committed to “a couple of big ticket items, namely police station and perhaps renewed aquatic facility” and said “as much as the beach front is a centre piece and is very much important to our community not every citizen in the community is a beach goer.”

Council Neil Menage didn’t think it was right that Council say no without giving clear direction to Town Staff as far as the financial aim of the potential build. He reminded his colleagues that the plans included parking, road improvements and drainage considerations.

Councillor John Rich said that if Saugeen Shores spends 1.2 million they would be left with a nice building but there is much more work to be done. “When you get to the bottom of Green Street and you see that there’s old tennis courts that need to be ripped up, there’s grass and fencing laying all over the place; the beautification of that waterfront to make it a more desirable location is going to be a lot more than the washrooms and it’s going to cost a lot more money.”

“We’ve got to make sure that we do this in a very cost effective manner and then make sure that we move onto the other aspects of the project that are going to make Port Elgin’s waterfront the jewel that it needs to be,” said Rich.

Councillor Don Matheson said that that amount of capital investment would build brand new washrooms at all four of the beaches in Saugeen Shores “and they’re all in need of that” but couldn’t support the 1.2 million upgrade because of other looming capital projects such as the police building. “That is going to be adding onto our debt that is going to be adding onto our taxes,” said the Councillor.

Deputy Mayor Luke Charbonneau said he had been a big supporter of the project and “getting to the point where we can improve some portion of the Port Elgin Main Beach.” Charbonneau said his belief is that once someone takes action to improve a major asset it acts as a catalyst for further improvements.

“I think I’ve just come to the point where it is just not fiscally prudent for the municipality to spend 1.2 million dollars in this location, whether you call it a washroom or whatever you call it, only from the standpoint of borrowing and our borrowing capacity and the demands on our borrowing capacity.” He said that progress is still needed but that there is room to make alterations to the structure’s design.

Councillor Mike Myatt said the project has been in the works for a long time, that the Waterfront Advisory Committee as well as Town Staff have put a lot of work into the project, but that he too had trouble with the 1.2 million.

Myatt echoed Huber’s sentiment regarding the long term cost of a debt load of that size and said that in conversations with the Treasurer, determined that the annual cost would be $95,000, “about $10.75 per property for 20 years” but reminded Council that there has been a call to renovate the facilities.

“If you travel down Green Street and take a look, that’s our gateway into our community, tourism is our number one economic generator behind Bruce Power and I think we need to be very serious about investing in our waterfront,” he said.

Mayor Mike Smith said that if you allocate 1.4 million to something you’ll be sure to find a way to spend it. He agreed that although there is a lot of pressure to come up with a plan for the waterfront, he can’t support a project of this size at this point, saying that as far as he sees it it’s not in the best interest of the whole community.

In the end it was decided that Town Staff would come back to Council at a later date with two or three different options of what would be available in builds at varying price points below the 1.2 million.