An interesting case of ‘hurry up but wait but hurry up’ took place during the recent meeting of Midland council when an almost immediate implementation of increased boat launch fees was delayed until mid-June by an appreciative council that wanted to discuss the report.
Currently, the public boat launch ramp at Pete Pettersen Park provides passes for launches, at an annual pass of $100 for residents and $200 for non-residents, as available at the municipal office and town harbour office.
The issue was complicated over the past several years as parking at Pete Pettersen Park became entangled with the town’s woes over downtown and harbourfront parking issues, reaching a head when council voted to dispose of 70 parking meters in an attempt to recoup losses; this included the parking meter at the boat launch.
While pass holders waited for their turn to launch their boat, they could find themselves behind several non-paying launch users who faced no threat of enforcement.
A staff report to the recent council meeting intended to immediately reinstate daily boat launch fees (launch and parking at $25 for residents and $50 for non-residents), which would avoid a $40,000 budget deficit, was slated to be approved by council under the consent agenda.
As noted during last year’s Truth and Reconciliation Day, council voted to ensure that fees for the boat launch would be waived for any Midland residents possessing a valid government of Canada Indigenous status or Métis Nation of Ontario citizenship document.
When asked whether the town should revisit this pledge given the high number of locals now claiming to be Métis and the municipality's need for money, Mayor Bill Gordon said the initiative would remain.
"(It) was part of our commitment to the TRC and is directed to FNMI residents who have either status cards (FN or Inuit) or Métis citizenship cards," Gordon told MidlandToday. "Historical access to the water for harvesting rights and removal of any barriers to that access was the inspiration for that policy."
Gordon, who later noted in the meeting that if somebody has a truck, boat and trailer and can buy gas and insurance for their boat, they can likely afford the pass, likened the freebie to one already afforded veterans.
"The beneficiaries must be Midland residents and have the appropriate credentials. The financial impact is at most $100 per person and so far we have not had much uptake but it remains a gesture towards reconciliation and one of the few that municipal governments can make."
While the report and its recommendation were passed, it was pulled for consideration and placed into the committee of the whole meeting, where discussion and reconsideration can occur.
Coun. Sheldon East began the discussion by asking municipal law enforcement manager David Smiley how bylaw planned to enforce the reinstated fees.
“If we can check all the boxes that every person has had the opportunity to pay, and we can continue to patrol, we usually have staff on the weekends between 9 a.m. to approximately 7 p.m., and we will actively patrol it,” responded Smiley. “But as of right now with no machine, it’s just not ethical to enforce at this time.”
Culture and community manager Karen Mealing added: “The one’s we’re looking to have reinstated are the day-use passes for a resident or a non-resident who just wants to launch, and then take their boat out that same day. If we proceed, we’ll use the HotSpot option – it’s the app that you can install on your phone, you could also use it at your desktop computer – and then we’ll put up new signage for that as well.”
Mealing added that the process would take roughly one week to enact following council approval.
Smiley also responded that there were penalties to being caught launching without a pass. “In our parking bylaw, the charge for parking at the boat launch without a valid permit is $80 for the early fine, and $90 after seven days. It’s one of our higher ones, but the reason for that is – it was $50 to launch your boat, so the penalty needed to match that, because people are willing to take their chances.”
Gordon then spoke at length on the topic, admitting: “Right now we have this kind of black hole, this void. We’ve kind of painted ourselves into a corner. We have our parking conundrum we’re going to deal with this year with the parking committee getting underway.
“We’ll come up with something sustainable. What fell through the cracks was the boat launch.”
He touched on increasing the fines, musing openly that calling a tow company would “be the last time you ever roll the dice at our boat launch. That’s probably a little overbearing, but as someone who’s used boat launches before and haven’t been able to find a place to park, even though I paid and had my sticker, it’s frustrating.”
Regarding the requirement of the HotSpot app and its $5 transaction fee for each use, Gordon added that the majority of people who could afford a boat, a trailer, and a truck to move it around would likely be able afford the cost and data usage.
“There’s really no good argument why we wouldn’t do this for this year while we come up with a longer term solution, which will be melded into ‘parking 2.0’, or ‘3.0’ I guess,” Gordon said.
Touching on the revenue returning into harbour funds, Meridis followed Gordon’s line of thinking by reiterating his intent to approach the 2025 budget with a proposal for a staff attendant at the boat launch, similar to the Penetanguishene boat launch.
“I was there (recently) launching our boat,” said Meridis. “I actually did see bylaw go by, and obviously I couldn’t pay for my daily launch because there’s no machine… but he was patrolling which was great.”
“There is a need for some constant patrolling of that area to make sure that the ones that aren’t paying, keep them honest,” Meridis added. “If you pay and someone gets caught, it makes you feel pretty good that you paid.”
With no changes to the motion, the committee of the whole approved of the report and its recommendations. The item is scheduled to appear at the next regular meeting of council on June 12 where immediate implementation of the bylaw fees is expected to go into effect once ratified.
As noted during last year’s Truth and Reconciliation Day on September 30, council voted to ensure that fees for the boat launch would be waived for any Midland residents possessing a valid government of Canada Indigenous status or Métis Nation of Ontario citizenship document.
The collection of boat launch fees report is available in the council agenda on the town of Midland website.
Council meetings are held every third Wednesday, and can be viewed on Rogers TV cable channel 53 when available, or through the livestream on the Rogers TV website. Archives of council meetings are available through Rogers TV and on the Town of Midland’s YouTube channel.
-with files from Andrew Philips
