Little Lake is getting a little water park this summer.
This week, council approved a proposal to allow an inflatable water park to be erected at Little Lake Park from June until September.
Jason Pulchinski, president of Waterfront Recreation Specialists, the company proposing the park, presented plans to council this week and answered their questions and concerns.
The inflatable water park projects a gross annual revenue of $170,000, with 10% of that, or a minimum of $10,000, going to the Town of Midland each year for a three-year contract, he said. The cost of the park is about $154,000, and that includes life jackets, etc. supplied to users. That cost is borne by the company.
Pulchinski asked council to allow a trailer to be parked down near the beach and space nearby for staff to set up and take down a portable tent.
"There would be nothing permanent," Pulchinski said. "We would get a generator to run our debit machine. We would have a minimal impact down at the beach area."
The water park isn't the only installation the company plans on putting in there, Pulchinski said.
"We thought we would also do canoe and kayak sub-rentals," he said. "I know it hasn't been successful in the past, but if complemented with the water park, it's a different sell."
All staff, Pulchinski said, would be hired from the Midland area.
"That's going to be at least 10 full-time positions during the summer," he said. "If we get the approval, we need to move on this quickly and advertise to hire the staff we need."
These inflatable water parks become an attraction or destination for the town or city they're put in, said Pulchinski.
"We do find that some of the locations people stay a bit longer, especially boaters at marinas," he said. "They may tend to stay an extra day or two. The hotels and restaurants benefit. There's also the benefit of keeping families busy with a fun thing locally."
Councillors were mostly in support of the park, but some had questions and concerns, too.
Coun. Beth Prost questioned the number of lifeguards they proposed to have on duty.
"I think in Ontario it's two lifeguards per 100 swimmers," she commented.
The standard for swimming pools is two lifeguards for every 30 swimmers, said Pulchinksi.
"But there is no confirmed number of lifeguards per number of swimmers," he said. "This is an average sized water park, so we will probably have three at any given time and one would be circling in a kayak or paddle board."
Then Prost asked about the maximum capacity of the park.
"We could make this park as big or small as we want to," said Pulchinski. "This park is about 80 or 100 people. Every piece of equipment has a recommended number of users."
Prost was also curious about how much it would cost families to use the facility.
"We're proposing a day pass of $25 plus HST," said Pulchinski. "We will also a do a twilight after 5 p.m. for $15 plus HST. For us, adults, we're done in about 10 minutes, but kids will play all day."
Coun. Jonathan Main was concerned about the pricing for the connected rentals.
"We don't know what it will be," said Pulchinski. "We will check out other local companies that do rentals, and we will be competitive ... We’re not here to gouge other businesses. And we have to try and be careful and be competitive and not undercut too much."
Coun. Cher Cunningham had concerns around the park being close to the public boat launch.
"We're going to be far enough from the boat launch and we mark off the water park with buoys," said Pukchinski. "We’ll have the rentals beside it in a convenient location so we can monitor it and keep an eye on how far away people go. If people bring their own kayaks and paddleboards, our hope is they park them and go play on the waterpark."
Coun. Cody Oschefski was excited to support the park, as well as the associated kayak, paddleboard, and canoe rentals. However, he questioned the length of the contract.
"I'm seeing it's a minimum three-year deal. Is there something in the agreement that calls for a mutual opt-out?" he asked.
Pulchinski said it wasn't an option that was discussed.
"Our only issue is we're investing a lot of money setting up this park," he said. "It's a costly adventure. And the three years are so we can make our money back. We come in the city to partner with the city and work in the best interest of all of us. We're open to advice and if there's an unknown factor that happens."
Coun. Bill Gordon pointed out one such factor unknown to the company.
"Overwhelmingly, people said they wouldn't let their kids swim in Little Lake," he said, referencing a discussion around this on his Facebook page. "And that's a challenge that I think is real. It may not be valid, but perceptions turn into people's reality. That's a tough egg for us to crack as council. I don't know if you have deep enough pockets or the willpower to change almost a generational stigma."
Pulchinski said he thought the lake water was very clear when he had gone by it last year.
"I was very impressed by the water clarity," he said. "I haven't swum in the lake, but one of the things I do like to keep an eye on are the weeds, because I know kids don't like swimming in the weeds.
"The big thing about a water park is that you're on it," he added. "You're playing on it but if you go off the slide, you're in a life jacket so you're not touching the bottom of the lake. One of the things we can talk about with the city is that we can put standing docks in summer time that kids can jump off and they don't have to wade out if it's a yucky."
One detrmental factor to putting up a water park, Pulchinski said, is blue green algae bloom.
"That's kind of scary," he said. "If we see that, we actually wouldn't put a water park in."
Further, Pulchinski said, the company hopes there will be lots of tourists coming through that won't have the fear around the health of the lake water that locals do.
"I'm hoping we can get over it," he said, "but I do appreciate that feedback."
Other councillors helped counter Gordon's point about the health of the lake.
"I am sitting as your council rep with Severn Sound Environmental Association (SSEA)," said Coun. Carole McGinn. "I actively went out with SSEA and did water testing. I would highly suggest reaching out to SSEA to help alleviate any concern around the water quality."
She supports the water park.
"This is what we need. We’ve been repeatedly saying we need something there," said McGinn. "It’s been known that you have to be active in this part. I support this wholeheartedly. This is a healthy lake, the last thing you want is a lake without any flora and fauna. As soon as you have that, that is a dangerous lake."
Gordon admitted working to remove the stigma around the lake water quality was something council needed to work on.
"We really want to invest in our park and get people back to using it and return it to its glory days," he said. "It may end up being the location for our splash pad. There's a lot of things that would be a beautiful tie-in to what you're doing. And you can either be the catalyst for getting more use out of the park or this could go down as one of the unsuccessful things we've tried to do at Little Lake Park in the past few years."
