A lawsuit filed by the Friends of Geneva Park (FoGP) was tabled in court earlier today, following the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka (YSM) announcement that it had sold Geneva Park to private developer Clayton Smith.
After YSM announced the sale of Geneva Park on April 4, the grassroots FoGP worked quickly to put together a case prior to the close of the sale — which takes place tomorrow.
“The court couldn’t give us time until today, and the deal closes tomorrow,” FoGP board member Doug Simpson told OrilliaMatters Thursday.
Simpson said no concrete decision was made today by the judge, who “got roughly 1,000 pages of material to consider,” but he said the judge and legal representatives may reconvene “in the hope of being able to make any sort of informed decision by tomorrow.”
The goal of FoGP is not to block the sale, Simpson said, but to vie for community members and stakeholders to have a say in the property’s future.
“We’ve never had a chance to speak with the new owner, and we’ve never had a chance to hear the terms on which the YMCA believes that they look after community interests,” he said. “I don’t mean just our communities. I mean everyone on the lake.”
The national YMCA owned Geneva Park for more than 80 years before YSM purchased the property on the shore of Lake Couchiching in 2003, and Simpson said a number of people have made contributions to the organization over the years.
“Rather than just go on faith, and then regret it after, we thought at least let’s ask a judge whether or not we deserve to know, and whether or not our past contributions win some consideration in whatever the future is,” he said.
“We’re not fixed on an outcome. We’re just trying not to be sidelined.”
“We’ve tried for 100 years to keep the forest cover, to keep the shorelines pristine, not to pave any more than we had to,” Simpson continued. “We wanted to see some sort of environmental protection or covenant or conservancy. Who knows, ultimately, what it becomes after it flips through a few more commercial sales? It would be nice to leave some protections.”
In a previous news release, FoGP noted the YMCA relied on financial contributions from “the Geneva Park community” over the years to keep it going.
Legal action against the YMCA is “the last resort for the FoGP, following 15 months of attempted collaboration between the Geneva Park community and the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka,” the news release noted.
YSM asserts it has engaged community members and stakeholders through the process, according to a news release issued Thursday in response to the FoGP release.
“We are disappointed in this development, given the comprehensive process that was designed in collaboration with community stakeholders,” the news release stated.
“We are confident that the process, supported by Colliers Not-for-Profit and Unique Properties Group, yielded the best possible outcome that balanced our need to ensure the financial sustainability of our charity with the best community use and the continued legacy of the park.
“We continue to be focused on and optimistic about the future and the many possibilities it holds for our association and all who love Geneva Park.”
