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Poplar Beach cottagers get no recourse from council By Liz Dadson |
Huron-Kinloss council To Comment on this article Click Here |
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No means no and the Poplar Beach cottages have got to go. That was basically the message Huron-Kinloss council gave to the group of cottagers who came to the meeting last night (Sept. 20). Following a closed session at the start of the meeting, councillor Lillian Abbott asked if she could put forward a motion to extend the Poplar Beach cottage leases by six months. Clerk Sonya Watson said that, according to the township's procedural bylaw, a notice of motion needs to be introduced and then discussed at the next meeting. However, if council agreed, the motion could come forward at that meeting. When asked, the majority of council refused to bring the motion to the table. Mayor Mitch Twolan told the cottagers that because there is possible litigation regarding this issue, the municipal solicitor advised council not to discuss it. Therefore, he said the presentation by township resident Ted Dodkin would be allowed, but there would be no question-and-answer period afterwards. Dodkin questioned council's decision to evict the cottagers once the leases expire Sept. 25. "As I understand it, there was a concern environmentally that there was nitrate leaking from their septic systems into Lake Huron," he said. "The cottage owners spent $4,200 on an engineer's report to prove to you that was, in fact, not the case. I'm interested in the motivation that led six of seven council members to agree to evict these cottagers who are leasing property from the municipality, and have been for more than 60 years. It clearly is not the environmental concerns you had." Dodkin is concerned that in today's economic climate, council is turning its back on $23,000 paid annually to the township by these cottagers, through the lease agreements and property taxes. "Am I as a taxpayer in Huron-Kinloss to be saddled with this loss in revenue in 2011?" he asked. Plus, he said, if there is a legal action brought by the the cottage owners against the township, more tax dollars are going to be used to defend council's decision, and it will likely be more than $23,000. Dodkin noted that the Municipality of Kincardine has a great number of properties that are leased to cottagers along the shores of Lake Huron, and he wonders why Kincardine isn't evicting those cottage owners too. Perhaps, the township could consider selling the land to the cottagers, he added. "I hope that this council is able to go on record and clearly state why these cottage owners are being evicted," said Dodkin. "I want you tonight to explain to me how you intend to make up the loss of revenue in the 2011 budget, and the expense of defending your decision if this were to go to court. I look forward to your answer."
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 One of the seven cottages west of Boiler Beach Road in Poplar Beach Twolan stated again that council cannot discuss the issue. However, he did note that the treasurer had informed council that the leases bring in $1,210/year and the municipal portion of the taxes, based on the 2010 assessment, would be $8,108.86. To replace this revenue would require a 0.22-per-cent increase in the residential tax rate. The $23,000 that Dodkin referred to was for the entire tax bill, including the portion that goes to education tax and the Bruce County levy. "I can't tell you anymore," said Twolan, and then asked for a 10-minute recess before continuing on with the council meeting. Miles Dadson, one of the spokesmen for the cottage owners, said it's obvious the environmental issues were not the real reason for ending the leases. Carla Mowbray, daughter of one of the cottage owners, said they have a right to know why the leases are being terminated. Dodkin said he was quite surprised by council's response. He has friends who own a Poplar Beach cottage and had offered to say a few words of support. "If there's no problem with the septic systems down there, then I'm wondering why these people are being evicted," he said. The township decided two years ago not to renew the leases when they expired this fall. At the meeting Sept. 8, council upheld that decision, with Abbott the only voice against.
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