| Sep 12, 2019


An Addington Highlands resort owner who had been selected for a Lennox & Addington Tourism Activation Fund grant of $2,500 to hold a music event celebrating The Tragically Hip, is now facing a court date for holding a modified version of the event.

Lori Ellerbeck of Mazinaw Lakeside Resort said her event was chosen as one of 13 (out of 27 applications) area businesses to receive a grant, but as things played out, she never received any money and is due in court Sept. 18 facing a charge under Addington Highlands Noise Bylaw.

The Bylaw prohibits “the operation of any electronic device or group of connected electronic devices incorporating one or more loudspeakers or other electro-mechanical transducers, and intended for the production, reproduction or amplification of sound. At all times.”

Ellerbeck said she spent considerable time completing the grant application and had intended to hire a Tragically Hip tribute band for the event, which the resort has been holding for three years. But when things went south, including a proposal to hold the event inside the restaurant at the resort, she had to cancel the band and went for a video of the Hip instead.

“It was three months out of my life and all I got out of it was a DVD and a summons to court,” Ellerbeck said.

So how did things go so wrong?

As already stated, Ellerbeck applied for the tourism grant and the L & A economic development committee approved her application.

But when the matter appeared before L & A’s Working Session meeting on May 8, the following resolution (which was seconded by Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg) was passed: “That approval of the funding from the Tourism Activation Fund for the Celebrating The Hip event scheduled to take place in Addington Highlands be deferred until staff can clarify details of the event.”

The remainder of the grants, totalling $17,500, were approved.

What followed was a series of emails between Ellerbeck and Addington Highlands that ended up in no grant for Ellerbeck.

However, the matter of events at Mazinaw Lakeside Resort has a rather long history, including considerable opposition from neighbouring residents.

“The way it’s rolled out for the last few years is that they come to Council, usually in February, asking for an exemption to the bylaw,” said Christine Reed, CAO/Clerk-Treasurer for Addington Highlands Township. “Council had decided to allow one exemption per year.”

Council did grant an exemption, which was used for a live band on June 29. On June 11, Reed suggested either using the exemption for the Aug. 17 Hip event or using the funding for the June 29 event.

Ellerbeck replied that the funding was for the Hip event and not transferable. Furthermore, she said she had hired the band for June 29 before she had known about the tourism grant and couldn’t, in good faith, cancel the band.

So, she made a request for a second exemption which came before Council June 18 in Denbigh.

Neighbour Rod Trute attended that meeting to speak against the exemption and written submissions against the exemption from Trute, Susan Delaney, Elizabeth Russell and Leanne and Brad Lloyd were also circulated to Council. The exemption was denied.

“Council is attempting to strike a balance between neighbours right to enjoy their property and a business,” Reed said.

While the DVD of the Hip likely wasn’t as loud as a live band would have been, Trute and Delaney were at Addington Highlands Council Sept. 3 in Flinton as a delegation to say that they were disturbed by it nonetheless.

“It’s gone too far,” Trute said. “I feel the noise was too much.”

“We don’t begrudge them their business or restaurant,” said Delaney. “But this is nothing more than personal partying.”

“You can’t sit outside and have a conversation,” said Trute. “I made a recording of this.”

Ellerbeck disputes this.

“There’s no way they could have heard it unless they were on our property,” she said. “Besides, we were done and in bed by 10:30.

“And Browns up the road is allowed to have events.”

Hogg called the situation “unfortunate,” adding that when it was determined Mazinaw Lake Resort didn’t have permission to hold the event, it didn’t go any further at County Council.

“It’s the complaint-driven system,” he said.

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