Centre Wellington Township owns a great deal of attractive recreational property, and now council has given staff the right to determine if commercial groups should pay to use it.
Recreation Director Andy Goldie said he is specifically targeting commercial user groups, and not individual citizens or local service clubs and organizations.
Goldie wrote in his report, “Over the years, the Grand River and Irvine River have been used by individuals and groups for various recreational activities including site seeing, walking, hiking, rafting, canoeing, etc. More recently Victoria Park (Elora) and other township lands adjacent to the two rivers have seen an increased amount of use by commercial recreational operators, which offer activities like rock climbing, canoeing, rafting, kayaking, zipline, rappelling, ice climbing, and hot air ballooning.
(Ziplining is a team building exercise by which people use a line to go from one side of the gorge to another. The resultant shrieks have disturbed the peace of nearby neighbours.)
Goldie noted in his report, “All of these commercial operators charge a fee for these services, and many of these operators are located outside of the Township of Centre Wellington. The township also receives numerous requests for access to the rivers, Victoria Park (Elora), and other township properties for film and television. As well the township has requests for access to our properties for training operations by organizations like the Centre Wellington Fire Department, Waterloo Regional Police, and others.
“All of the activities noted previously occur directly on township property or the township property is used as a staging area or for access to their activities. With these activities come some increased risk and liability for the township.”
Goldie said the biggest concerns are noise and parking problems. He told council that some of the commercial ventures consist of large groups, and they often park in parts of a park where there is little designated parking, and their numbers can give the impression that other users should stay away. Some actually cordon off parts of public property, often in the name of safety.
He said, “Many of these businesses are not even local and also are not supporting the local economy. Do we want an access agreement with them?”
He said staff has discussed the issue several times, most recently in December. He added that the biggest difficulty with setting fees for commercial use is enforcement, particularly since many of the activities take place at night, after regular business hours, and weekends.
Goldie said the first step staff is taking is asking council for permission to develop a user agreement with commercial groups. He said municipal groups such as fire and police, who often train in the Elora Gorge, would be exempted from the fees, as would local service clubs and organizations.
Among the difficulties in coming up with a policy are some questions staff will have to consider:
– does the township require proof of liability insurance and naming the township third party insured by commercial operators?
– does the township require fees for access to township property for commercial operators in order to support township maintenance costs of the properties and capital costs to help address improvements to the park and properties?
– does the township require property access agreements with all commercial operators offering recreational activities in the rivers and parkland?
– does the township require the development of formal operating procedures for commercial operators to follow which address parking, noise, staging set up, etc. in and around the township properties and two rivers?
– identification of activity areas and staging areas whereby commercial operators may host their operations, and
– with the current staffing level how does the township enforce and patrol commercial activities on township properties?
Councillor Kirk McElwain asked if there are insurance issues with private groups.
Goldie said most groups have insurance. He noted that many of the companies are offering “more extreme” activities.
McElwain said he is under the impression other groups are causing problems, too.
Councillor Shawn Watters said there was a major car show in Bissell Park in Elora last year, and when those vehicles left, the park was “in sad shape. I have a concern that a group like that can have quite an impact on a park.”
Goldie said he has noted that Minto recently insisted on $2-million in liability and third party insurance coverage from groups using town property. He added that other places insist on user fees to help cover costs like clean-ups.
Councillor Fred Morris pointed out that Goldie had cited big crowds and noise as reasons for complaints from neighbours.
Goldie’s report had stated, “In addition the increased traffic of individuals partaking in these commercial operations has, and continues to have, impacts on the adjacent residents and other park patrons through the blocking off certain areas of the park, parking, and noise, to name but a few.
“One of the most heavily used parks by the commercial operators is Victoria Park in Elora. Victoria Park does not have sufficient support amenities (parking areas, trails, signage, etc) to meet the needs of all users during many summer weekends, thus also impacting surrounding residents and the park property.”
Morris said that individuals visiting the park can create the same noise and parking problems as a large group, and wondered how to limit the numbers of people so they do not bother the neighbours.
Morris said the gorge running through the community is an asset, and, “I don’t want to create a document that keeps business from operating in our community. It’s a valuable asset and has to be treated as such.”
Goldie agreed that staff would “look at a balance.”
Councillor Bob Foster wondered if there is a proposed fee schedule yet.
Goldie said staff would have to work on such things.
Council then voted unanimously to have staff start studies that could lead to fees for commercial groups.
