The fate of a vacant piece of land on the river at Webster and Lillie Avenues remains undecided after Fort Frances Town Council requested that a committee considering locations for a dog park look elsewhere.
The dog park committee had recommended that the open field southwest of Legion Park would be an ideal spot for an enclosed dog run, as it is currently underutilized and is near the Legion Park splash pad, which would facilitate the inclusion of running drinking water for dogs.
Council was presented with three options: a small rectangular plot west of the current parking lot, a rectangle south of the parking lot or an L-shaped area comprised of both and wrapping around the parking lot.
However, at Monday’s council meeting, it was decided that the committee should present more locations in town and leave any decision on the site for the future.
I’ve been here 39 years, that parcel of land has not been developed, but I have to think, in my mind, it’s a prime piece of real estate,” Coun. Mike Behan said at the meeting.
“I’m not sure a dog park is the best use of that location. I just think that this parcel of land being so valuable could have more benefit to the community as a revenue source other than a dog park and I would be curious to know what the other five locations were, so I can make an informed decision, because right now I’m not comfortable with the Legion Park [area] as the site for the dog park.”
Coun. John McTaggart agreed that there may be better options for managing the vacant land, putting forward a notice of motion to explore the feasibility of using the land as a campground. He noted that there is no longer a campground for motor homes in town and that Point Park is often full during the summer months. In addition, the area is conveniently located within walking distance of many businesses and has appealing local attractions for families, such as Legion Park’s splash pad and picnic areas.
This notice of motion was carried forward, meaning a feasibility report for a campground on the location will be considered in the future.
Ribs on the Rainy
During Monday’s meeting, the council also decided it would move forward with sponsorship of a RibFest event this summer after deferring the decision from its meeting two weeks ago.
With the Burger Wars committee declining to return for summer 2026 (while planning to bring the popular event back in 2027), a majority of council voted to proceed with the RibFest, dubbed “Ribs on the Rainy.”
“If I understand that Burger Wars is definitely not going to go ahead this year, then I’d be in support of supporting RibFest coming to town and hopefully get this going as a longtime and longstanding community event going forward,” Behan said.
Although the decision was carried, there were still questions surrounding the up to $20,000 sponsorship price tag and how the town plans to at least break even from the event.
Community services and facilities manager Craig Miller said the town intends to seek grants that would allow the event to be self-funded and earn revenue through fees charged to non-local food trucks.
“The trucks that are coming are all paying vendor fees,” Miller said. “I expect that there’ll be other revenue streams as well. All of those will flow through to the town, so that hopefully we offset the seed money that we’re asking council for to get us going for some expenditures that we need in order for the event to get started.”
Miller also said the RibFest group is very interested in making it a recurring festival and growing the event in years to come, which could give a boost to other events.
“They seem to have a lot of success with other communities, and they’re willing to teach us and other committees, such as Burger Wars, the Bass Tournament and anyone who might be open to getting some experience from a larger group to make changes or to improve on their own events.”
Some of the funds to sponsor the event will also be going towards reusable assets that can be used for other future events.
Four-laner construction
The ongoing construction on Third Street West is expected to keep the portion of the road from the Central Avenue intersection to York Avenue closed for a minimum of two months, according to Travis Rob, infrastructure and growth manager.
The roadwork is a continuation of the construction begun last summer, in which repairs and reconstruction were completed from the Central Avenue intersection to Cornwall Avenue.
“I’m anticipating probably two- to two-and-a-half months if weather and everything plays nice with the process,” Rob said. “We go from Cornwall Avenue to just before York Avenue this year, full road reconstruction.”
Rob said the reconstruction will include work on the sewer, water and storm drains, as well as the pavement, curbs, gutters and sidewalks.
