Wawa Municipal Council's holding off on deciding whether to fund a proposed dredging of the marina.
In their Committee of the Whole meeting last night, Council was apprised of a request from the Marina Committee to provide $25,000 for the work, warned that the entrance has narrowed, with sand filling it to the point that depths are down to 18 inches in some spots, causing substantial problems or concerns for the ability to move boats into or out of the marina - in addition to emphasizing the importance to tourism, including with events like the Wawa Salmon Derby, presenter Chuck Farrand also noted that the Municipality's marina agreement requires it to stay open and be maintained, and warned that the O-P-P has noted they might not have a boat on the water if they can't safely travel the channel, posing safety concerns.
Asked if they'd applied for funding, Farrand and Perry Kauk - who were speaking for the Marina Committee - said they had, but had not heard back, so it is possible that some support may be forthcoming, but they also pointed to funds given to the Municipality by the federal government as part of the marina divestiture - though it was initially $500,000, Council had agreed to use $150,000 to cover related legal costs and the bathrooms at the marina, bringing that down to $350,000, with attendees questioning why the $25,000 requested couldn't come from the remaining funds, saying they should go toward helping the marina, though CAO/Clerk Maury O'Neill noted the funds were provided partly under the understanding that substantial repairs were needed to infrastructure at the marina - such as the wharf - and plans had been to use interest earned annually from the remaining funds to help fund marina operations, keeping the general amount to cover important liabilities or other uses, though attendees emphasized concerns that without this work, the marina may need to close, which would have negative effects, including on tourism.
Emphasizing that time was short - to ensure arrangements could be made - Farrand asked Council to bring forward a resolution that night - saying if the request was rejected, they'd seek federal government support through Sault Ste. Marie-Algoma M-P Terry Sheehan - though did not get that, with councillors Mitch Hatfield and Cathy Cannon both saying they wanted a staff report before making a decision, and Mayor Melanie Pilon warned the earliest they could reach a decision would be the next scheduled meeting, on June 17th.
Discussion was cut off due to time limits under the Municipality's procedural by-law - to the frustration of some attendees - with a decision expected following a staff report, which is expected at the June 17th meeting, though Pilon refused to make any "promises" that a decision - let alone a supportive one - would be forthcoming.
