LAST Tuesday, Norfolk County held a public meeting at Port Dover Community Centre seeking input on its Marina Business Sustainability Plan. The plan aims to make the county’s public marinas financially sustainable.
Norfolk’s CAO Al Meneses, general manager of operations Bill Cridland, and Stephanie Potter, manager, corporate initiatives, listened and responded to suggestions for the plan from community members who lined up to speak. Ward 6 Councillor Adam Veri and marina manager Janet Blackburn were in the audience. Approximately 35 people attended, far fewer than previous public meetings on the marinas’ future held last fall that were attended by hundreds.
Many recommended implementing new forms of revenue generation at the marinas, such as boat rentals, dingy launches, and food sales. Others suggested ways to reduce the marinas’ operating costs, such as repairing docks rather than replacing them. Several ideas discussed at previous meetings came up again.
Some attendees voiced their frustrations about the marinas, arguing that they are or should already be self-sustaining. CAO Meneses explained the marinas are not self-sustaining when projected capital costs are considered despite Port Dover Harbour Marina’s annual operating surplus, and the county is trying to devise a sustainable path forward for the facilities.
“When we talk about trying to define sustainability, in our mind, it’s what’s that level of subsidization from the general taxpayer. In an ideal world, marina operations are self-sustainable so that they don’t require any subsidization from the levy at all,” he said.
“That’s fundamentally a decision council is going to have to make, in terms of what that level of subsidization is. We subsidize libraries, we subsidize arenas, we subsidize all kinds of municipal assets and programs. Is this something that we’re going to be subsidizing as well? We don’t know, that’s a decision that council is going to make.
“What we’re saying is we’re taking this year now to get [a] business plan in place, with a new financial model that we’ve put in place for this year, which is the 25 per cent increase in fees. Any surplus at the end of the year is going in the reserve as well. Let’s then forecast what that’s going to look like based on revenues coming in, based on the capital forecast, based on reserve balances, and is there a business model out there that we can create that doesn’t require subsidization from the taxpayer, and that’s what we’re doing.”
One attendee said the county could improve its communications about the marinas, and local marina users have been grumbling about their grievances. CAO Meneses said he encourages everyone to share their concerns with the county rather than keeping them amongst themselves because that helps Norfolk recognize and address their issues.
“It’s funny you say that because I always tell people grumbling under your breath and getting angry isn’t going to get the service level adjustments you’re looking for. It’s calling your local councillor, it’s calling the mayor, it’s letting staff know that you’re unhappy with the current service level that’s there,” he said.
“It’s like everything else, the more complaints we get, the more escalated it becomes, the more a priority it becomes, the more energy we put into fixing the situation. But if you’re grumbling under your breath or you’re talking to fellow boaters and not really escalating the issues you have, it’s difficult for us to know what you’re feeling and the pain that you’re suffering.”
After the meeting, Coun. Veri told the Maple Leaf that it was “important to hear from people with a vested interest in improving the community.”
Norfolk County held other public meetings about its Marina Business Sustainability Plan on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at Port Rowan Community Centre and Wednesday, Feb. 26, at Simcoe Recreation Centre. There was also an online survey to express views.
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Originally published February 26, 2025
