Business group wants committee to look at improving Oso Beach washrooms

Craig Bakay | Jun 01, 2022

Washroom woes at Sharbot Lake Beach were once again a topic of conversation at a Central Frontenac Council meeting, specifically the regular meeting May 24 at Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake.

Council heard from Alison and Wayne Robinson, representing the Sharbot Lake Business Group (SLBG) as they requested a working committee with the Economic Development Committee and Township staff be formed to develop a proposal to raise the necessary capital to update or replace the present washroom facilities.

“We realise the budget is gone for this year,” Alison Robinson said. “We propose something be on tap for 2023.

“We can’t leave public washrooms to the businesses.”

She said now that the K & P Trail has been completed to Clarendon and will soon be connected all the way to Calabogie, “usage is on the cusp of skyrocketing.

“There will also, hopefully, be a trail head installed by the County similar to the freshly completed Verona trailhead. Washroom facilities will continue to be badly needed. We cannot depend on business owners to accommodate that need.

“It is not reasonable to think that we will bring hundreds of visitors by way of the trails and to the village by traditional users and not provide well designed, maintained and operational facilities to accommodate that need.”

She said the SLBG has identified, as a top priority, the need for the development of a strategy for the washrooms at the beach to serve the beach and trail as well as all the other short stay visitors and that they propose the Economic Development Committee applies to Council for permission to establish a working committee of Council to analyse the present facilities, consult with other stakeholders and develop a proposal to raise the necessary capital for the construction of a proper long-term facility for the Township.

This isn’t the first time the beach washrooms have come in for scrutiny.

They were out of order (temporarily) in June of 2019 due to problems with auto-flush valves and water supply. At the time, Manager of Development Services Andy Dillon told Council that rubber seals were on order and there was no evidence the damage is anything more than normal wear and tear.

However, there have been incidents of vandalism over the years, including doors being destroyed as well as toilets and sinks, even after porcelain ones were replaced with steel units similar to those used in prisons.

In 2013, the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market group requested some work be done on the washrooms and privacy fences along with automatic flush toilets were installed. A grant was secured to install a submersible pump in Sharbot Lake but the connecting pipes turned out to be too small.

“I notice that Sharbot Lake Provincial Park has rebuilt all their washroom facilities,” said Coun. Bill MacDonald. “That washroom (Oso Beach) was built for a particular need at the time.”

Audit normal

It’s rare these days when a municipal financial audit reveals anything out of the ordinary and/or of concern. And the 2021 Central Frontenac audit is no exception.

Auditor Cara Chesney of MNP told Council: “There are no material errors.

“The audit is substantially complete . . . we just need to go over some financial statements.”

Storm damage minot

“Well, what a weekend we’ve had,” Mayor Frances Smith said during the Mayor’s Remarks section of the agenda. “We didn’t have a lot of damage like some places had but there was some at the back of Oso Hall and to some shingles at the medical centre.

“Many thanks to the work of the roads crews and firefighters.

“They didn’t get much of a long weekend.”

Disconnecting

Council approved a “disconnecting from work policy that will allow all Township employees to not engage in work-related communications, including emails, telephone calls, video calls or sending or reviewing other messages, to be free from the performance of work.

“I probably breached it the other day when I called Cathy (CAO MacMunn) and said ‘I know you’re not working but things are blowing around.”

The Mayor said it applies to all employees but there are exceptions for health and safety such as clearing roads or a state of emergency is called.

“But not if you just want to talk to somebody about something,” she said.