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Credit Valley Conservation shares 25-year plan for Island Lake

March 10, 2022   ·   0 Comments

Mono Council heard a presentation on Tuesday (March 8) evening from the Credit Valley Conservation Authority concerning their recently approved 25 year Island Lake Conservation Area Management Plan.

Island Lake was created in the 1960s and opened to the public in 1970. It supplies water to the upper reaches of the Credit River and to the Orangeville sewage treatment facility as well as being the crown jewel in local conservation area.

In 2020, 347,000 visits to the park were recorded, with 74 per cent coming via trail access. The facility hosts fishing, canoe/kayaking, hiking and social gatherings as well as fishing derbies, a maple syrup festival, Canada Day celebrations, amphitheatre events, learn to’s and wellness series.

The plan, which includes many park improvements, such as new infrastructure, a new entrance to the visitor centre and improved lakefront, is slated to cost approximately $40 million over the 25 year span.

Councillor Ralph Manktelow was concerned about water levels in the lake itself, saying that the depth averaged only 1.5 metres in the spring, falling to one metre during the year. He also noted the weed growth and then the matter of access to the park which has recently been a major problem for Mono.

There are about six access points and many are being plagued with illegal parking from people not wanting to pay the entry fee to the park.

Coun. Manktelow also took issue with the use of the park saying that yes it was originally build to service Orangeville however it was now a major tourism site and very important from that perspective.

Deputy Mayor Fred Nix said he did not see where the money was going to come from and wondered why the conservation authority was seeking the Town’s endorsement at this time? He also noted that the CVC had wanted to purchase the gravel pit at the north end of the park, but failed to include it in the plan. Had they abandoned that concept, he asked.

Kate Burgess from the CVC said she would be putting the fundraising plan together in the coming year, but grants played a major part in that plan.

Eric Baldin who was also at Council on behalf of the CVC said there was still interest in the gravel pit as well as other properties even though they’re not in the plan per se.

The plan is divided into three phases and Councillor Melinda Davie said perhaps 25 years was too large a time frame to endorse the plan and perhaps only phase one should be considered at present.

She and Councillor Sharon Martin also emphasized the number of people not paying the entry fee, by using the other entries and parking illegally in Mono.

Burgess answered that perhaps the tri-party funding agreement that allowed these alternate access points might perhaps need to be rethought out. Bill Lidster, who was from the CVC as well, noted that some of these nonpaying entrants might be annual pass holders, of which there are some 1,200.

Mayor John Creelman spoke to the parking issues as being a serious problem to Mono, noting that the Island Lake Family Park parking was regularly over crowded with Island Lake visitors.

He said he personally felt he could not endorse the plan until this issue was dealt with, even it meant changes for Mono residents, such as entry only being allowed through the main gate.

This ended the delegation and council thanked the CVC for it.

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