Duane Hicks
The Town of Fort Frances will continue to allow weddings at Sunny Cove Camp in 2011.
At its regular meeting Monday night, town council authorized a maximum of four weddings per season at Sunny Cove Camp during the shoulder seasons (May, June, and September, and the August long weekend), just as it did last year.
Coun. Andrew Hallikas, who chairs the Community Services executive committee, said the committee discussed the matter at length, remaining cognizant of competing with other local businesses.
“We had allowed up to four weddings last year; I think only two actually happened,” he noted.
“So, we are still in early days in seeing how it goes because it is a good resource for the entire community.
“Of course, anybody and all can cater at that location, including established businesses,” Coun. Hallikas added. “So we think by keeping it to four weddings, and by keeping it in shoulder seasons, we’re not actually actively competing during prime time with businesses.
“But it does allow us to see how something like this would function at Sunny Cove Camp.
“The feeling of the committee is we’re going to take it on a year-by-year basis and evaluate it, so we discussed the two wedding that we had last year,” Coun. Hallikas explained.
“Everything seemed to go well, so we’ll see how, if we get four, how they’ll do this year and we may have to adjust that number up or down,” he conceded.
Mayor Roy Avis said the committee got input from a Fort Frances Kiwanis Club member regarding weddings it had hosted at Sunny Cove in the past, who made it clear the town must “walk before they run” when it comes to using the camp for weddings.
He also said to keep in mind that, according to the town’s agreement with the Kiwanis, youth camps are its first priority in the summer months.
Town council authorized the purchase of Sunny Cove Camp from the local Kiwanis for $1 in October, 2009, with the intent being for the town to preserve and maintain the camp for the use of district residents.
