Much has been said about the beach, but I’m not going to let that stop me today.

Wasaga Beach once was a hamlet defined by its beach. The beach was the reason for the cottages being built there. The development, the hotels, the restaurants and the stores were there to serve the business drawn by the beach. That changed however as the village grew and business around the beach began its decline. when the Town of Wasaga Beach was founded this process was already well under way. Income and taxes from permanent residents outgrew tourism and the town grew westward around the bay.

Now the Beach and tourism is the tail that wags the dog. we saw the mistake the last council made; being obsessed with the beachfront while neglecting the real needs of the residents for the services and amenities required by a modern town. The Main Street project became so bloated that it lost impetus and dragged itself down in planning quicksand. We really needed only an Arena and a Library, yet even these projects became lost in the shuffle of consultants and planning meetings. not a single brick was laid by the council that was meant to bring change and new life to the area. a cruel irony.

So now a new council walks the land facing the same hollow demands to “fix tourism”, as if that one task would fulfill the mandate given by the voters. A task that has stymied all previous councils of our fair town. far from being the salvation of our economy the beach area parasite has absorbed and wasted far more taxes than it has ever produced. further to that, many of the seasonal businesses are owned by people that do not live and shop locally. Like the big box stores, the lions share of the takings leave town.

Now we have a dilemma forced on us by the failings of the last Mayor and council; having purchased so much of the commercial property, and since it has become clear it will never draw enough lease money to justify the exorbitant mortgages the area must be redeveloped or continue to bleed taxes. As has been made obvious this redevelopment must be led by the only thing guaranteed to return on investment; residential. those that feared all development died with the last council will see that far from shutting down development, the new plan will see more developers working at a faster pace to grow the area. Alas, this mainly retirement residential build comes at a price. The slightly sleazy, “party on” beachfront must die. Nobody will retire to the area as it is now. The beach area must be gentrified.

My hope is this redevelopment will not consume council the way it did the previous iteration. there is so much other work to be done in this town. my hope however is that we now have a powerhouse of a council, unburdened from acrimony and dissent, invigorated by both new blood and experienced hands there will be less showing and more doing.
Towns like children grow in bursts, and i have a feeling we are about to go through another of those episodes that made us the fastest growing town in Canada.