Our Best Asset

While property values in other markets are dropping, Georgian Bay is proving to be...

Posted By KELLY MCSHANE

Posted 2 years ago

Georgian Bay is the biggest most obvious asset the area has judging by a number of factors.

One of the more expensive examples is real estate.

"Waterfront property sales have not slowed down. The prices have stayed high even though the prices of other types of properties have fallen," said Roger Williams, a real estate agent with Homelife Georgian Heights Realty Inc.

Tay Township Mayor Scott Warnock is looking forward to the township receiving its share of the market.

"With the new and proposed waterfront developments in Port McNicoll and Victoria Harbour, we're looking forward to more people and higher property values,"Warnock said.

"We don't have the beaches that some areas have, but access to water is a great advantage for us," he added.

According to 2003 Statistics Canada findings, Simcoe County saw 6.6 million tourists of which 90 per cent were from within Ontario. One-and-a-half million of those tourists said they came to the area for the beaches, parks and outdoor activity.

"People coming here want authentic natural outdoor experiences and we need to protect that because it is an economic base within the county," said Michele Locke, communications officer for the Severn Sound Environmental Association (SSEA).

"With all of our provincial and national parks, people can really connect with nature here," Locke said.

SSEA is committed to maintaining the health of the bay by cleaning up polluted areas and testing water quality levels at beaches right from Penetanguishene to Bass Lake.

"Severn Sound has been fairly lucky and has been able to stay open throughout the summer in past years. Great Lakes water levels add to the issue because with less water, if there is a problem, it will be compounded," Locke said.

Mayor Warnock said he appreciates the hard work SSEA has put into cleaning up the bay and addressing the issues that affect the area's water.

"The main concern we have is the water level. It has had a negative impact on tourism because the marinas have to do costly dredging," said Warnock. "We're hoping that eventually it will come back, but it's really out of our hands".

Both the Midland and Owen Sound harbour masters report water levels are up from last year and, although the season has been slow to start because of poor weather conditions, pleasure crafts are still venturing into the area daily despite rising fuel costs.

Midland's harbour master, Rick Leaney, says visitor boaters were down 10 per cent at the end of May.

"It hasn't been warm enough for people to stay on the islands or on the docks," said Leaney. "Gas prices don't seem to be bothering people at all."

Bruce Munro, general manager of Doral Marine Resort in Midland, isn't worried about gas prices deterring boaters.

"Fuel makes up about 15 per cent of the operating cost of a boat, so (gas prices) don't impact boating as much as you would think," said Munro. "I think people might not travel as far or as much, but boaters have a huge investment in their boats and this lifestyle, so they won't be giving it up that easily.

"It's been a tourist destination for years. The water is the life-blood of this area," said Munro. He said passenger steamers frequented the bay at the turn-of-the-century and today is no different with recreational boaters.

"People will always take the time to re-energize themselves and the bay is a great place to do that. Georgian Bay is the best fresh water boating in the world. Recreational boating is still pretty strong. Every industry has a blip' at some point, whether it be economically driven or not," Munro said of the affect of rising gas prices on boating. He said the water quality is a major draw for boaters to the area.

"There have been a large number of groups working to help with the pollution that happened in the sixties and seventies. There are still polluters out there, but the bay was never heavily industrialized," said Munro.

He is optimistic that this year's boating season will be as prosperous as ever.

Penetanguishene Mayor Anita Dubeau says the area marinas have been very busy.

"With the recent rise in gas prices, I expect many of the boaters will stay the night in the marina, which gives our municipality the opportunity to capitalize on them being here," said Dubeau. She said several stores on the main street have been given grants to revamp their storefronts and hopefully attract more visitors.

"Tourism is a large and necessary component for the survival of our downtown. A lot of our tourism is brought in by the bay. It is a tremendous asset," Dubeau said.

Al Donaldson, executive director of the Ontario Marine Operators Association knows the importance of the bay as an economic base.

"Ontario represents an economic impact of about $26 billion in recreational boating. Georgian Bay represents a significant portion of the total impact of recreational boating in the area," Donaldson said. He said the OMOA has approximately 130 members in the Georgian Bay area, which is far more than any other area in the province.

"Recreational boating brings a lot of people into the area, creating jobs and spin-off revenue, through purchases such as groceries," said Donaldson.

He said within one hour of the OMOA offices in Penetanguishene, there are an estimated 22,000 boat slips in the marinas, each contributing about $10,000 a year in revenue.

"It's not an overly long season, but it's a very important element in Georgian Bay and for smaller townships that rely on the recreational boating industry," said Donaldson. "It's a big business and it represents several billion dollars worth of economics in the area."

According to Donaldson, issues such as the requirement of passports at the border and the change in the Canadian dollar is deterring some American visitors from coming north, which may have an affect on this year's tourism revenue.

Donaldson doesn't see pollution as primary issue facing tourism in the bay at the moment.

"Recreational boating is not a major contributor to pollution. No sewage is dumped into the bay. We are working toward educating the public about the use of older model engines and the affect on water quality," said Donaldson.

The OMOA would like to see older two-stroke engines removed from the water and replaced with newer fuel injected versions.

"The old two-stroke engines are really bad for polluting and they aren't as fuel efficient,"he said.

Tiny Township Mayor Peggy Breckenridge realizes the connection between the quality of the bay's water and the survival of her municipality.

"Our township is primarily a cottage area. If the water quality went down, maybe we would see a lot of places for sale," she said.

Breckenridge said she is confident the water will remain healthy because so many agencies, including the health unit, do regular testing to prevent a problem before it begins.

"We are ensuring our septic systems are being taken care of so that the water quality is kept up," she said.

Older septic systems throughout the township are being reinspected and checked for leakages. Breckenridge said by the end of this summer, they would have tested the entire township. Next year, the process will start over again.

"We don't have a lot of business of tourism in our area. (A decrease in tourism) would mostly affect Midland, who is our support through business and shopping," said Breckenridge.

Breckenridge said the property values in the area are steadily rising and she thinks access to the bay is a major factor.

"Tiny has the highest property assessments in north Simcoe County, because the value of our waterfront property has greatly increased," she said.

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"With the new and proposed waterfront developments in Port McNicoll and Victoria Harbour, we're looking forward to more people and higher property values."

SCOTT WARNOCK MAYOR OF TAY