/Marina sale stymies boaters’ access to lakes

Marina sale stymies boaters’ access to lakes

By James Matthews, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A marina that has served a number of Algonquin Highlands and Minden Hills lakefront property owners may be closing public access.

And the property owners on three lakes are pleading with Algonquin Highlands council to come to their aid.

Chris Card, the township’s parks, recreation, and trails manager, said the marina that had for many years served Twelve Mile Lake and Little Boshkung and Boshkung lakes has been sold and will no longer provide services.

Essentially, he said, the marina-owned boat launch on Twelve Mile Lake in Minden Hills will no longer be available after it changes ownership. The sale is slated to close in June, Card said.

The current owners of the location have announced that spring boat installation will continue as planned in the coming weeks. But that means users will launch their boats without a plan as to how to remove them in the fall when new ownership sets up shop.

“The boat launch that’s there (at the marina) is a deep water boat launch that facilitates the launching of the majority of the boats on the lakes,” Card said. “It’s a much deeper launch than what we offer at Highway 118.”

The boat launch in question serves residents of both Minden Hills and Algonquin Highlands. There are about 365 properties in Algonquin Highlands and as many as 381 properties in Minden Hills.

Algonquin Highlands council has gotten a request from the lakes’ property owners’ associations to come up with a collaborative effort between them and both municipalities to resolve the issue.

Algonquin Highlands maintains a boat launch at Highway 118 on Little Boshkung Lake which provides access to those lakes. But that launch was designed for boats smaller than the common size of boat currently on the lake.

“Our launch there (at Highway 118) is really only designed for smaller aluminum styled boats because it is a shallow launch,” Card said.

The lake associations have broached the idea to dredge the launch at Highway 118 to deepen it for larger boat launches. Card said that’s something that would need to be assessed, but its success is questionable.

“Because the location is a large sandbar,” he said. “The shallow area is what I would call a couple of football fields in size. It goes out a significant distance in every direction.”

Another remedy would be to upgrade the launch, but there are no planned work there for the near future. It’s lumped in with 14 other launches in the township’s Asset Management Plan considered to be of fair condition. And it’s behind four other launches considered to be of poor condition and of higher priority for work.

Another option, which has been discussed with Minden Hills officials, is an existing launch on a shoreline road allowance on Twelve Mile Lake Dam in Minden Hills. It’s owned by Minden Hills but there is private property leading to the launch.

“So there are a number of steps that would need to be taken to go in that direction,” Card said. “Just to find out what the legal implications are, the access possibilities are.”

He said that’s the most promising possibility to remedy the impending lack of launch access.

“Any upgrade of the (Highway) 118 site is a substantial ask,” Mayor Liz Danielsen said. “Given the approvals required, the amount of work that’s required, we don’t see it as being something that’s possible.”

She said there’s basically an even split of residents between both municipalities who are near the lakes. It’s been said as many as 800 residents are affected by the loss of launch access, but she doesn’t think that estimate is accurate.

“Whether it’s 800 people who have boats that cannot access or would not be able to be taken out of the water in the fall, but probably a fair number of them are (affected),” Danielsen said.

She broached the possibility that something could be worked out with the resort’s owners for joint management of waterfront access.

“Do we want to adjust priorities for projects that we’ve got?” she said.

Perhaps owners of deep-hulled boats should consider hiring a crane to remove their vessels in the fall, she said.

Councillor Lisa Barry suggested a partnership with Minden Hills be explored. Then again, maybe Minden Hills wouldn’t mind throwing in on improving the Highway 118 launch.

She said the best option is an alternate site on Twelve Mile Lake Dam.

“That would be the best option,” Danielsen said. “It would cost the least amount and work out well assuming there weren’t too much of an uproar from neighbouring properties there.”

Coun. Sabrina Richards asked if the possible new owners of the marina has been approached about the issue.

“We have not been able to find out who the new owner is,” Danielsen said. “That seems to be a secret for some reason or another.”

She said there’s been no communication with the Minden Hills planning department that she’s aware about a residential development there, as was suggested in real estate listings.

Richards wondered if there may be any other municipally-owned lengths of shoreline that could be developed into suitable water access.

“I don’t believe we do have anything else,” Danielsen said.

“I did touch base with the planner to see whether or not we may own a parcel somewhere and we don’t on any of those lakes,” Card said.

“Is there perhaps Crown land we could negotiate for?” Richards said.

“That is something that we could investigate whether there is any Crown land available that we could access,” Danielsen said, and added that she believes it’s a shared responsibility with Minden Hills.

“It’s not our responsibility to completely resolve an issue that is actually in Minden Hills,” Danielsen said, and added that there are many Algonquin Highlands taxpayers who are affected by the change in lake access. “That’s where my idea (is) that there’s shared responsibility.”

“I just had the information from the planner that there is no Crown land there,” said Angie Bird, the township’s CAO.

Council decided to broach the possibility of collaboration with Minden Hills Township toward a possible shared solution to water access at Twelve Mile Dam. Council will also hire a consultant to look into the scope of work needed to make the Highway 118 site suitable for larger boats.