Duane Hicks
Not wanting to take on too much too soon with the newly-purchased Sunny Cove Camp, council has reconsidered its previous decision to allow catered weddings there.
For this year, at least, it agreed to only honour the four bookings the town already has agreed to and then will evaluate the practice before any more are accepted down the road.
“My feeling right from the beginning, when we took the camp over, is you should walk before you run,” Mayor Roy Avis said in an interview yesterday.
“What happened is we’re taking over a facility, and we’re not sure how it will operate in the ‘shoulder seasons,’” he admitted.
“Is the weather going to be good, is the weather going to be bad?
“There is no heat in those cabins, there’s no heat in the lodge, you’re going to have to sit by the fireplace,” he added, noting temperatures can be very unpredictable in May or September, and an unexpected cold snap could put a damper on a wedding with no heat.
“I think we’re wise to accept the four [weddings] they’ve got, see how they do, and proceed from there,” the mayor said.
“There [were] some questions regarding insurance, licensing, whether they should be overnight weddings or should they only be day affairs,” he noted.
“There’s all these here questions that have come along, and I think council just felt we’ve got to study it a little bit more before we moved.”
Mayor Avis said he didn’t feel council was against wedding receptions at Sunny Cove; they just want to be sure they do it right if they do allow them.
“Let’s make sure we have the proper facility so we can move in a positive direction that’s best for all,” he remarked.
Mayor Avis said the town is exploring getting grants to upgrade the facility, a new caretaker is being hired for the camp, and the Community Services division is getting ready for the camp’s year ahead.
“This is all new for us,” he stressed. “If we can do a [bang up] job like the Kiwanis did for the two-month or two-and-a-half month period, I think we’re doing an excellent job this year.
“And then from that point, we take an extra step.”
“I am very glad we are going to allow the four previously-booked weddings to go ahead,” Coun. Andrew Hallikas, who is chair of the Community Services executive committee, said at Monday night’s council meeting where the decision was made.
“I think the acquisition of Sunny Cove Camp by the town is an absolutely wonderful opportunity to expand the services that Community Services can supply.
“I was just hoping we would allow weddings for a year just to see how it goes,” he added.
“There was some comments made that we’d be competing with local business,” Coun. Hallikas noted. “The fact is, the town already has some competition with local business.
“But to me, that’s not the issue—the issue is about choice, and I think that we want to use that property to its full potential.
“And one of the ways that we can do that is make it available to weddings, with, of course, the proper precautions and liability waivers in place, so that people in our community . . . can do so.
“Really, we can’t evaluate the impact on local business without having some data,” Coun. Hallikas argued. “Trying for a year, and looking at it at the end of a year, will help us do that.”
“I think we’re doing the right thing here,” echoed Coun. Paul Ryan, pointing out the initial resolution council had passed to allow weddings at Sunny Cove stipulated it was on a trial basis.
“We can see how it goes, see if there’s any problems,” he noted. “When liquor’s being served, things can happen.
“We’ll get that data, and it will be something the next council will be considering next year,” Coun. Ryan added.
In a written report to council, Community Services manager George Bell noted there have been concerns brought forward about competition with business, damage to property, supervisions, and liability.
He added discussions with the town’s insurance provider since then have indicated that since the town owns the property and also provides weddings elsewhere, they are insured at no additional cost.
Council approved a recommendation from the Community Services executive committee to limit the availability of the camp for weddings to the four current bookings this year, after which time they will evaluate the practice for the future.
Back on Feb. 22, council agreed to allow weddings to take place at Sunny Cove in addition to hosting youth camps and other activities.
The public would be able to book weddings in May, June, and September, and, if available, on weekends in July and August.
The intention was to make more use of the camp during the “shoulder seasons” (i.e., May, June, and September) when it would not be used for youth camps and the like.
