I don't know about you but I know my New Year's resolution

this year is to join a gym and get back in shape.

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 Latest News regarding the sale of the Bay Beach Properties

The Town Council with the support of the Mayor has accepted Town Staff's recommendation to pursue further the residential/commercial development of the adjacent Bay Beach properties.  That refers to the present 4 properties being used for parking and open space.  They have had two proposals of interest submitted by developers.  You may go on the Town of Fort Erie website and call up the minutes of the October 20th meeting to see the action taken.  You may also call up the agenda and go to item 9 to view the entire report presented to Town Council.  Pages 13 -17 refers to the specific developers and the property to be developed.  You will see that this will eliminate the parking access for those that visit our beach regularly.  The Town Council/Mayor's email addresses can be found below if you would like to voice your opinion on this action.

 

Help Save the Bay Beach Properties!

This is an architectural drawing of one of the plans for the Buffalo Waterfront.  Wouldn't something of this nature look great at Bay Beach?

  We believe it is very important for all those that do not want to see ANY of the Bay Beach properties fall into the ownership of a private developer email or call the Mayor and Councillors asking that Report No. CDS-041-08 / Bay Beach Development Seeking a Private/Public Partnership Opportunity be brought back up for reconsideration.  They are public representatives whose moral obligation is to listen to their constituency and any and all others that will be effected by a decision they will make. We ask that you become active participants in this situation. Please don't sit back and hope someone else will make that call or send that email.  We need you to step up and take that action. These public servants need to hear the message loud clear and over and over again. The email addresses and phone numbers for the Mayor and Councillors are as follows:

Doug Martin - mayor@town.forterie.on.ca      home phone - 905-871-9043   work - 905-894-8905

Martha Lockwood - mlockwood@town.forterie.on.ca    home phone - 905-894-8180

Rick Shular - rshular@town.forterie.on.ca    home phone - 905-871-5579

Sandy Annunziata - sannunziata@town.forterie.on.ca      home phone - 905-994-1062    work - 905-356-6709

Tim Whitfield - twhitfield@town.forterie.on.ca     home phone - 905-894-8904     work - 905-894-9327

Ann Marie Noyes - anoyes@town.forterie.on.ca     home phone - 905-382-2352    work - 905-382-7827

Bob Steckley - bsteckley@town.forterie.on.ca   home phone - 905-871-7531   work - 905-871-7912

The council voted in this manner on the issue: Mayor Martin, Councillors Martha Lockwood, Rick Shular, Tim Whitfield, Sandy Annunziata voted in favor of exploring selling away the lots on the north side and south side of Erie Rd. while Councillors Ann Marie Noyes and Robert Steckley voted against the idea.

 Instead of looking for a private developer to sell off the property to, we believe that just as the town sought out a partnership with the Niagara Region and the Peace Bridge Authority when paying for the Erie Beach portion of the Friendship Trail they should do the same with the improvement and enhancement to the Bay Beach property.  The beach is used by people in large numbers from every area of the Niagara Region and a part of the Peace Bridge Authority mandate is to encourage "cross border" activities which Bay Beach certainly does in great numbers on a daily basis.  Along with this other municipalities search out applicable grants to use to help pay for projects of this nature.  We also ask why our Economic Tourism and Development Corporation has not been asked to invest in both improving and marketing one of the largest tourist attractions we have in Greater Fort Erie? Ultimately this decision regarding the Bay Beach properties will not only effect us in the present day but will live on to effect those in the generations that follow us.  Lets not allow something similar to the Pt. Abino Rd. to the lighthouse situation happen again.  It is our hope that together we can prevent the present Council and Mayor from repeating the same type of shortsighted mistake.

Kudos to our community!!!   Our latest total of signatures on the petition to save all the Bay Beach properties from private development is 3104 signees. There are plenty more out in the community being circulated. We have had a very nice, steady return of the signed petitions from our area businesses. If you would like to sign you can find them at most of our local businesses.  The community is coming together to have their voice heard.  It is also a positive step to see the Mayor beginning a petition drive to "Save The Hospital" which is a crucial issue facing our community and shows the Mayor knows the strength of the petition process.  As we all hope the NHS will take the petitions to heart in making their final decision, we too hope the Mayor and Council will do the same for our petition to keep ALL the Bay Beach properties in public hands.  It certainly is an effective way of having the community's voice heard. This is truly democracy in action.  We must make it clear to our elected officials what the position of the community is on this issue as it will not only effect us but also the generations to come.  Anyone who would like to help us circulate petitions may call 905-894-2826 to arrange for them to be picked up. 

A very interesting question was asked several times by local residents at the beach today; why is it the newspapers have been here several times to ask us our opinion on the matter, the local community organization has been here each day asking us our opinion, but we have yet to see any of the councillors or mayor who are trying to initiate the sale of the properties here to see and hear the opinions of the people?  On behalf of all of these people, and our organization we invite our councillors and mayor to sit with us at either of the two public entrances to the beach and listen to what people have to say about this issue and also see who comes through the gate each day. 

Help to save the Bay Beach Properties from falling into private ownership!

 

At the present time the Town of Fort Erie is entertaining the idea of selling off the adjacent parcels of Bay Beach which are presently used for public parking.  We believe it is a terrible mistake to sell public property that is now and always has been an important recreational site for the general public to private developers.  The Town has stated they want a return on their initial investment.  It should be made clear that the money used to buy the bay beach property came from lotto funds and not soley out of taxpayers pockets.  Our question to them is why has that never been the case for their investment in the Friendship Trail, the Sugar Bowl Park, the River Walk, the landscaped median on Garrison Rd., etc?  The Bay Beach property attracts people to it than any other recreational venue in the Town of Fort Erie.  By the Town's own commissioned Parking Study they have been told that on a warm sunny day the beach has approx. 1000 people on it.  On a warm sunny weekend day it will have 2000 people on it.  We have also been assured there will be public access to the beach.  Our answer to that is just look at our Town's history of upholding public access.  What was once a public access point at Lakewood Ave. which was used by cottagers and visitors to the beach for decades was sold off a few years ago to private ownership.  The public access to our lighthouse at the end of Pt. Abino was also allowed to fall into the hands of  private ownership.  It is quite clear that public access is never assured.  The other point the Town likes to use as its rationale for selling off the public land, is that this private development will revitalize and create a synergy that will be a catalyst for bringing back Crystal Beach.  Our response to this is that a much larger development was established in Crystal Beach approximately a decade ago and we now have one business left on Derby Rd., restaurants have changed hands 2 and 3 times and more vacant store fronts have appeared.   If development is going to be the catalyst there are presently 2 new developments being advertised in our community.  There are large areas like the one on Ridgeway Rd. that will eventually be developed.  The simple fact of the matter is people are attracted to this area because of the wonderful "gem" we have in Bay Beach.  We do not see the logic in lessening their opportunity to use it.  The Bay Beach report given to council by the Town Planner uses the figure of $3 million dollars as what it would take to develop the Bay Beach property.  When asked how this figure was derived the Mayor responded that it was nothing set in stone just a figure the planner came up with off the top of his head!  This nebulous figure was used as part of the data given to Council and the Mayor to use in determining their action on this important issue.  You can help us to let the Town know we are against selling off any of the public lands to a private developer by doing any or all of the following things:

• Add your name to one of our petitions that can be found in area businesses.
• E-mail the council and mayor and tell them of your position on this issue.  The names and addresses can be found below.  
• Write and editorial to one of our three local papers stating your opposition to the sale of any of the Bay Beach property.

These are your elected public officials, they need to hear loud and clear their constituency's feelings on this issue!

This is a copy of a portion of an email I sent to Mayor Martin regarding the sale of ANY of the Bay Beach property.

Mayor Martin,

It has been a very busy weekend as my email box has been filled and my phone ringing off the hook.  But I understand as this is a very important issue to this community.  We believe the recent action by the council is "shortsighted" and will ultimately hurt this community for generations.  Obviously you have seen our reference to the Pt. Abino Rd. situation regarding access to the lighthouse.  We see this latest Bay Beach situation as the second coming of a decision similar to that.  You know how that decision still "haunts" this community to this day.  The lure of a quick monetary return must be weighed against the long term value of holding on to the property so that the beach can be maximally used by our Greater Fort Erie community as well as the Niagara Regional community and those that come to us as tourists.  We do not come to you as adversaries, we come as active and concerned members of this community who know the dynamics of this situation better than most.  We sat on the Neighborhood Planning Committee, know the inaccuracies of the Watson study which we presented to the last council and mayor, we know the results of the town generated parking study, as well as the quality of life study done right after the Neighborhood Planning Committee ended.  There is a great deal of factual data that this council or yourself as the new mayor have not been introduced to.  Our position is not against development if done wisely.  We have plenty of room in this community for that to happen.  If this is to revive Crystal Beach as some people believe, there are plenty of places for that to happen while not removing/reducing access to a key property that brings more people to it than any other recreational venue in the community. There are two areas already designated for development now; one on Schooley Rd. and one on Erie Rd. past the Bay Beach Club.  The vast expanse of land on Ridgeway Rd. across from the CBTYC sits waiting to be developed. The strip of land that now serves as a private parking lot for the beach is another spot waiting to be developed.  Which by the way will then remove another 200+ parking spaces now being used by the beach goers.  We also live with the costly errors to our community made by "developers" of the past.  We sit with a barren weed strewed "development" on Smalls Rd. where the shells of 2 or 3 homes sit vacant for a third year.  We drive by 6 town houses that sit in various states of completion behind the public parking lot on Erie Rd. near Derby Rd. with no sign of any work being done on them.  We see mounds of dirt and weed filled expanse on Ridge Rd. and Thunder Bay Rd. and can only shake our heads.  This may give you an understanding of why some people become less than passionate about their public land falling into the hands of another developer.  I welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you at your convenience.

Sincerely,

Paul Lewis

President

Friends of Crystal Beach

Bay Beach Properties in Jeopardy Again!

On Monday June 9th the Fort Erie Council along with our Mayor voted to revisit the issue of selling off the Bay Beach properties to a private developer.  This was discussed and voted on by the previous council which decided that the Town would keep the Bay Beach property on both the North and South sides of Erie Rd.  This decision was made after listening to Town Staff's proposal and then hearing our communities rationale for keeping the property in public hands.  We were not given any notice of this latest move and only found out about it from reading the local papers.  On Monday June 16th a delegation representing our FOCB organization went before Council and requested the opportunity for our community to provide the necessary data and input regarding the reasons why the entire Bay Beach property should remain in public hands to this new council and mayor.  At the July 21st council meeting concerned residents packed the chambers with people standing along the walls and in the hall as there was no room left in the council chambers. There were many points made as to why a sale of ANY of the Bay Beach properties is a shortsighted move that will continue to hurt the growth and quality of life in this community for years to come.   Some of the key points made were:

• Has a partnership with the Region, Peace Bridge Authority along with Grant possibilites been sought out?  No answer was given to us on that by the Town? The obvious reason for partnering is that Bay Beach is used by people in large numbers from all over the Niagara Region along with those that come from Western New York(one of the mandates of the Peace Bridge Authority is to encourage cross border travel).  Grants have been used by other municipalities for projects similar to the enhancement of the Bay Beach property.  Partnering with these two groups has been done for the creation of the Friendship Trail which services fewer people.
• Previous "private development" in Crystal Beach has not provided the "synergy" that our town planner suggests will come with private development of the Bay Beach property.  We had 124 upscale units built over the last ten years in the CBYTC, since that time all but one business has closed on Derby Rd., 3 restaurants have changed hands 3 times each and another longtime favorite is presently up for sale. 
• If subsequent upscale private development will provide the stimulus or be the catalyst our town planner believes it will, then there are several locations already being advertised for this kind of development.  Why use public land to do this with?
• In the report to council: CDS-041-08 the Town Planning Staff states; "Developing Bay Beach as a quality public facility comes with a price tag of approximately $3 million in addition to the $2.6 million already invested in the property. This is beyond the Town's ablility to finance, and therefore private funding support is required."  When asked specifics as to what would be included in this $3 million figure and where it came from, the Mayor stated it was just something our town planner just kind of "grabbed out of the air"?  To then use that figure in a report to Council that should contain factual information/data only, we feel is either an intentional deception or a huge error in judgement that had a very negative and slanted effect on the document itself.  As to the $2.05 million used to purchase the property and the continuing belief we need to get a portion of the tax payers money back, that too is an inaccurate statement as the money that was used to buy the Bay Beach property came out of the Gaming money given to the town.  And finally, as to being beyond the town's ability to finance and therefore having to get private funding to help enhance the beach, that is exactly the point of trying to partner with the Region, Peace Bridge Authority and "granting" organizations to help in the beautification and enhancement of Bay Beach.
• Why is it that our Economic Development and TOURISM Corporation has not invested in the beach as it is the largest TOURIST attraction we have in Greater Fort Erie?  Wouldn't helping to "polish the jewel" and then marketing it bring in even more TOURISTS to our community?  How hard is it to see the marketability of a beautiful sandy family friendly beach which is used to swim, fish, sail, jet ski, scuba, boat, water ski, etc.
• It was suggested that if the parking lots get sold, we could seek other property to purchase in its place.  One would have to ask where are you going to find property large enough to meet the present parking demand at the beach?  Satellite lots were suggested by our Town Planner.  The closest of these is nearly a half mile from the entrance to the beach.   It holds approx. 30 cars.  Another suggestion we heard that evening at council was a shuttle bus?  That would entail either leasing busses or buying them for the town.  That would also mean paying driver salaries, gas at today's prices and actually finding beach goers that would drive to a shuttle parking area, wait for the bus, pile all their beach equipment in the bus along with children, and then do it all over when they are leaving the beach.  If you wanted to reduce use of the beach that seems like a pretty good way to us.

Do you think these people would be good candidates for the half mile walk to the beach or the shuttle bus trip?  And they are typical of who frequents our beach. 

                       

 

Don't let the long winter doldrums get you down, get off that couch and come to the Friends of Crystal Beach meeting.

Our next meeting is: 

Niagara Community Foundation Update:  Bill Spear of Plantation Irrigation has put in the plants that will meet our request for funds from the Niagara Community Foundation.  These plants will grow into what we hope will enhance the environment of the beach.

What was that about, "If you build it they will come"?

Why is it that those who came before us more than 100 years ago could have created something like this for the community while we look at what is pictured in the photos above? This is an example of a time when our local  Town Government valued and understood the positive affect a beautifully developed "green space" and beach front could have on their community.     

OUR 2008 YEAR IN REVIEW

We kicked off the year by again helping sponsor the Crystal Beach Public School's annual Easter Egg Hunt for the children of our community. It is always very nice to see many of our members come out and volunteer to make this event a success.  In May we again had a Neighborhood Clean Up/Beautification Day.  On this Saturday we had members helping with the "ReTree Niagara" project in Waterfront Park, others putting back up our Welcome to Crystal Beach banners, and yet another group picking up debris on the main thoroughfares of our community.   In June we continued our partnership with the Fort Erie Arts Council in bringing the 4th Crystal Beach Art Festival to fruition and kicked off our 5th Waterfront Park Concert Series which has grown in popularity throughout the entire Niagara Region.  July saw us hold our 3rd 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament for the youth of our area.  In August we were very happy to see the $5000.00 Niagara Community Foundation grant that we were awarded to environmentally enhance the Bay Beach property come to fruition.  Two areas along the perimeter of the beach wall were planted with native vegetation that will not only improve the aesthetic look of the property but will also reduce the sand erosion that takes place each year.  We staged the 3rd Annual End of Summer Celebration and Parade which increased in size and enthusiasm this year.  October saw the coming of our 4th Crystal Beach 5K Race/Walk which like the parade also grew in number of participants and spectators.  This year we had 250 runners/walkers from all over Southern Ontario and Western New York come out to take part in this event.  It was a warm sunny fall day which showed off our community in a most positive way.  We heard from so many racers that they would mark our race on their calendar for next year as they enjoyed the race and hospitality so much.  Our partnership with the Crystal Beach Public School and the Fort Erie Arts Council continued to grow and flourish.  Our CBIA has graciously provided insurance coverage for all of our major events and we appreciate their continued support.  And finally we were happy to see our membership grow with new individuals/families joining us in trying to make our community shine and be one we can all be proud to call home.

      We had Bill Spear put in serviceberry, amur shrub maples, sedum and feather reed grass.  We believe It will aesthetically improve the look of Erie Rd. and the beach entrance while also providing a wind break to reduce the sand that blows into the street in the fall and spring.  The photos above show the growth over one year.  

  As Spring brings with it warmer weather we will again begin to put up our community banners.  Last year we had 19 banners purchased/sponsored by various associations, businesses, families and individuals from our community.  We have already had orders for 3  more and it is our hope that others will come forward to help us beautify the main thoroughfares of Crystal Beach.   You can see from the photo above they are very attractive and will brighten up our community.  The cost is $290.00, which includes a two sided banner and all the hardware it will take to hang them effectively.  The GST and PST actually adds another $40.00 to the cost but the Friends of Crystal Beach has been able to pick that up so far for each banner purchased.  Each will have the name of your group on the lower portion of the banner.  The banners will be put up each spring and taken down in the fall and are projected to last a minimum of 3 to 5 years.  Our organization agreed to get things rolling by purchasing 4 of the new banners.  If you are a member of one of the numerous associations in the community, or a business owner, family or street group we ask that you join in the effort to make our community shine.  You may pledge sponsorship by contacting us at: plewis@buffnet.net or sending a cheque made out for $290.00 to Friends of Crystal Beach, P.O. Box 978, Crystal Beach, Ontario L0S 1B0.  Please specify how you want the sponsorship to read on the banner.  Thanks to Sally Graves for spearheading this community project.

 Norman and Barbara Cantor, The Whalen Family, The Kane Family, Crystal Wines, Burd Family, the Oakwood Ave. Neighbours, The Buffalo Canoe Club, the McCarthy & Panebianco Families, The Bay Beach Association, The Crystal Beach Hill Cottagers Organization, Crystal Beach Candy Co., Crystal Beach Public School, Crystal Artisan Village, Prudential Town Centre Realty Inc., Bob & Mary Ann Strath, The Crystal Beach Tennis and Yacht Club, the Jackson Family and The Friends of Crystal Beach (4).