Sunny Cove

Fort Frances Council will not reconsider its decision to sell off Sunny Cove Camp.

A motion to reconsider the sale fell short of the required five votes to return the issue to the council table for discussion.

Resident Terry Ogden had approached council last month to consider other options for the youth camp.

Only three councillors voted in support of bringing the issue back to the table.

Councillor Wendy Brunetta supported the motion, saying she did not believe council had exhausted all of the available options regarding the restrictive covenant that was placed on the property when the Kiwanis Club handed it over to the town.

“I believe there may be a reasonable compromise, one that respects their original wishes while still serving the long-term interests of our community,” says Brunetta.

Councillor John McTaggart introduced the motion to reconsider.

He says he wanted to see more discussion take place.

“I could have gone either way with this decision,” says McTaggaart.

“Since that time, I’ve listened and listened and listened to a lot of people from the community, both for and against. More are for keeping it. And I really want to have a discussion further in regards to that.”

The decision to sell the camp followed concerns over the cost of trying to restore Russell Hall, the camp’s main building.

A tender for repairs came well over budget.

Councillor Bill Morrison feels the job could have been done cheaper after speaking with a local log home builder.

“We haven’t really had a chance to really flesh that out before we had the vote,” says Morrison.

“I think there are possibilities. I know we’ve had a lot of local agencies come up to me and say they only like to have the opportunity to rent that for the youth in the area.”

Morrison suggested a committee form to seek out ways of making the camp successful again.

Councillor Mike Behan notes that council has been exploring the future of the camp for several years.

While he understands the passion the public has for the camp, he says he did not hear any new information that would change his mind.

“And at the end of the day, we are facing the tough decisions to make given that our tax base is shrinking,” says Behan.

“How do we sustain this going forward? And unfortunately, I will upset a lot of people with this, and they’ll be disappointed, but I’m not gonna change my decision.”

The sale was also supported by the Kiwanis Club, which handed over the camp in 2009.

A church group from Emo had expressed interest in running the camp several years ago, only to back out.

The camp has sat idle since 2019.