Fort Frances council narrowly approves sale of Sunny Cove Camp.

The for-sale sign will be going up at Sunny Cove Camp.

In a 4-3 decision, Fort Frances council has opted to sell the camp, instead of spending money to fix up the almost 70-year-old camp.

The decision backs a recent recommendation from the Kiwanis Club, which turned over the youth camp to the town in 2009.

The camp has not operated since 2019.

Councillors on both sides admit that it was a difficult decision, given the camp’s history in the region.

Councillor Steve Maki says his concern is spending money on a facility that the town may not be able to keep going in the future.

“Youth camps are becoming a thing of the past. The kids have a whole different look on life as a general rule,” says Maki.

“I don’t believe that status quo operation is going to be even close to break even. It would cost the town substantial money on a yearly basis to a point where we’re not going to continue with it.”

The future of Sunny Cove arose three years ago with the discussion over the condition of Russell Hall, the camp’s main building.

The building was identified as having extensive wood rot and an infestation of carpenter ants.

Administration recommended in 2023 that the property be put up for sale, but town council decided instead for an engineering study and to seek out funding to fix up the building.

A grant of almost $500,000 was received from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, while the town kicked in $210,000.

However, only one bid for the work was received, which was well over the expected budget.

Councillor Mike Behan says the town’s cost of keeping the camp has always been worrisome.

“I was always very concerned about the money we’re spending on a camp that’s 10 miles outside of town that maybe not everybody in town can access and utilize,” says Behan.

“With all the capital expenses we’re facing going forward, I am in favour of option two (selling the camp). I know it’s going to disappoint people, but I think it’s best.”

In its report, Administration offered council the option of moving ahead with the planned improvements.

It did note that the camp would likely continue to have an operating deficit of close to $14,000 a year.

Mayor Andrew Hallikas felt it was worth at least to give it a try.

“We should try to rehabilitate it,” says Hallikas.

“There’s no guarantee that we can. Notice we’re looking to proceed with a contract for remediation. We’ve looked at this in the past and haven’t had a lot of success.”

“There’s no guarantee that we’ll get that. But my personal preference is that we should try rehabilitating it, and if in the off chance that we don’t rehabilitate it, then I feel that (the Kiwanis Club) owns it and they should be able to sell it if they wish,” says Hallikas.

Administration’s report also suggested the potential of adding new programming, such as an inflatable waterbark, disc golf, and watercraft rentals, but provided no further analysis on potential revenue.

“The reason why we didn’t include business plans for each of these additional options is that we really don’t know what the frequency of user rates would look like for each of these options,” says John Burrows, Chief Building Official.

Councillor Wendy Brunetta still see the potential.

“I’m very excited to see the things in option one (rehabilitating the camp). I think there’s a lot of possibility,” says Brunetta.

“We have operated, meagerly, I believe, over the last number of years, and I’m really glad to see that some thoughts have been put into how we can expand the services that we can provide at Sunny Cove.”

Administration notes that between 2017 and 2019, Sunny Cove hosted 25 private bookings, including 16 weddings, and 23 organizations that offered kids’ summer camps.