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Penetanguishene boat launch not yet ready for business

CAO says it might take another couple weeks before staff is trained in all safety protocols
2020-02-19-Jeff-Lees
Jeff Lees, chief administrative officer for the Town of Penetanguishene, told council Wednesday that town wharf and boat launch will not be ready for the long weekend. File photo.

Penetang residents, seasonal and otherwise, will have to keep their boats under cover for another couple weeks at least.

Jeff Lees, chief administrative officer for the Town of Penetanguishene, informed council at its virtual meeting this week that the wharf and boat launch are not yet ready to be opened to the public.

Lees said the idea was to bring on the harbour master late last week so he would have a couple weeks to get things in order for a potential reopening this weekend.

However, things have not gone as anticipated.

"We have not yet onboarded our summer seasonal staff down at the marina," said Lees. "We are waiting in large part for our third party to bring our dock system over. We recognize the role our staff are going to play down at the marina is going to shift quite significantly, from what they've been accustomed to and now with shifting to social distancing."

From the staff's perspective, he said having things going this weekend was overly optimistic.

"We're certainly aiming for next weekend, but I don't want to promise next weekend," Lees said. "We hope in the next few weeks, we will be able to go ahead."

He said to make sure the town is preparing for reopening as provincial guidelines become available a "return-to-normal" working group has been formed.

"That working group essentially has been tasked with focusing on the how versus the when," Lees said. "By the end of the month, we're looking for a report back with input from staff on staff-to-staff and staff-to-public interactions."

Aside from that, he said that until now all town operations have been proceeding as best as they can to make sure all essential services continue to be delivered to residents.

"We will be wrapping up spring cleaning operations over the next week," Lees said. "Asphalt resurfacing has started and is anticipated to be completed by the end of May."

He said all other departments have been working to keep up with regulatory requirements and inspections while 10 out of 18 plots at the ecology gardens have already been renewed for use and will be ready to receive the individuals with updated safety protocols in place.

And staff have been reaching out to all seniors who have signed up for town programs in the past to do a general check-in and inform them of Ontario 211 as a valuable resource.


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Mehreen Shahid

About the Author: Mehreen Shahid

Mehreen Shahid covers municipal issues in Cambridge
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