The battle over the location of a splash pad in Port Elgin is not going away.
The Save Northshore Park group presented a petition signed by more than 1,600 people to Saugeen Shores council, urging council to reconsider the planned location of the splash pad at the park adjacent to the Port Elgin harbour.
Council referred the issue to staff to hold a public consultation session and to ultimately come up with a final recommendation for council.
Spokesperson for Save Northshore Park Peter Knechtel says the move is just a "smoke and mirrors" move by council, adding he can't understand why council would still consider the park a potential location for a splash pad.
He says the public has made it clear they are opposed to the location at Northshore Park, citing safety concerns and a lack of parking as the primary issues, though he adds public consultation is always a good thing.
Councillor Neil Menage says he's not buying the validity of the petition and says it's just another case of not-in-my-backyard opposition.
"Clearly, this is a typical, selfish, local NIMBYism that is reigning supreme here," says Menage. "These local residents, and they've managed to put together a tainted petition that has been signed by everybody and anybody all over the world, who doesn't even know where the park is, doesn't even know where the splash pad is going to be located, the whole process is flawed."
The splash pad organizing committee has raised about $200,000 for the project, and Menage points out they have been applying for grants using the Northshore Park location and a target opening date of July 1, 2017 as part of the grant application process.
Menage says with council bowing to opposition pressure and heading to a public consultation, he's worried the splash pad may not qualify for grants if they change the timeline and location.
Saugeen Shores CAO David Smith says staff will be holding the public session to not only gather input, but to help correct misinformation about the current proposal, adding staff are still working with the July 1 target date.
The public meeting has not yet been scheduled.