Saugeen Shores council has voted against approving a proposal to bring a mini train and other amenities back to Port Elgin’s North Shore Park.
Scott Pearson had proposed bringing the original 1970s steam train, which he now owns, back to the park as part of a master plan to revitalize the site that saw a lot of storm damage in the last few years.
Along with the train, Pearson has also proposed a possible mini golf course, a wine and charcuterie garden, some railway roundhouses and a shed among other things.
A staff report recommended “That Council support the Port Elgin and North Shore Railroad proposal directing staff to work with Mr. Pearson on incorporating the proposal into the master planning process for the park; and that Council direct staff to develop an agreement with Mr. Pearson for the Port Elgin and North Shore Railroad.”
During discussion, many councillors said back when Pearson approached the Town about the train, they initially were in favour of the plan.
But at Monday’s meeting, there was some concern expressed over too much development in the park. Councillors wanted to be cautious about the ‘all or nothing’ approach being taken in the wording of the recommendation.
The Town reached out for some consultation and comment from the community, but some council members were concerned online public comments and ‘voting’ for or against the park did not really reflect the desire of the greater community.
Staff say in their most recent report, the May 2023 online survey resulted in 2190 ‘votes’ cast with 57 per cent voting yes and 43 per cent voting no to the proposal.
Councillor Bud Halpin expressed concern that some people were voting in the survey numerous times, based on upon social media comments he’d seen indicating that was being done.
CAO Kara Van Myall noted, the online feedback option was a way to do a ‘temperature check’ and that staff did look for duplicate votes. She noted, “It wasn’t perfect. To do something that would be perfect would have taken a lot more time and money to do that.”
While there was a public meeting held in 2022, there were still concerns expressed by council that there should have been more fulsome consultation with the community. Councillor Dave Myette questioned why the usual process involving the Town making a request for proposals wasn’t initiated.
CAO Van Myall explained, “We were approached and it’s staff’s responsibility to bring to council those proposals when they come forward. The original report, when we brought it forward, council directed staff to continue to work with Mr. Pearson.”
There was discussion about the risk of monetizing the public space, with a few councillors reluctant to allow amenities and activities that required payment in the park.
Councillor Myette stated, “To put in a facility that is no longer free– that’s going to limit a lot of people in our community as to how much they can go down to that park.”
Councillor John Divinski shared a similar view, noting this past Sunday, he went by the park and saw a number of families eating lunch at the pavilion. “They were having fun in the wooded area. The kids were having fun playing ball and exploring…” said Divinski, adding, “I don’t want us to turn it into a park where you pay rather than play.” He noted he could be amenable to a train or even mini golf, but had issues with the idea of all the other buildings in such a small area.
Deputy Mayor Diane Huber said she believes the park master plan should come first, and council should be “very, very cognizant of what that means for the long-term.”
She said, “To me it seems almost like a very classic case of the cart before the horse. This master plan process, are we setting up that the master plan has to be created to match the proposal —that is very restrictive in terms of the re-imagining of the park and really taking into account public consultation as to what they would like to see in a very special waterfront park in Saugeen Shores,” said Huber.
She added, “I find it very difficult to support something that has so many questions still here. We really need to take a step back.”
Huber said, “These are legacy decisions that we’re making.”
Vice Deputy Mayor Mike Myatt agreed with the idea of taking a step back from the recommendation to approve the proposed agreement, saying, “I think we have an investor here who wants to invest in North Shore Park which is a wonderful thing and we’re figuring out that’s such a jewel in our community for a lot of people.”
He added, “We’re just not ready to do that. I cant support it.”
Staff will continue to work on a master plan for the park, without the inclusion of the train and other proposed amenities.
Mayor Luke Charbonneau said, “I think it’s clear that council isn’t comfortable with what’s been proposed by Mr. Pearson, so I think the logical way to look at that is, we set that aside….and we would advance with a master planning process that will not include that, at least as proposed. It was proposed as a complete business plan, council isn’t going to support that business plan so that will be set aside and a new plan developed.”
