By Cecilia Nasmith
Fenced but open on weekdays is how you'll find the Victoria Park beach, starting May 31.
After voting last week to fence off the beach until a debate on how to proceed with the beach at their June 8 meeting, Cobourg council this week reacted to the provincial Roadmap to Recovery plan released last Thursday and reconsidered the question.
An exhaustive council report examined three options – a complete closure, a complete reopening, and a closed-weekends-and-public-holidays-only model.
Councillor Emily Chorley made the motion that would see the access points in the fencing now surrounding the beach closed Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (July 1, Aug. 2 and Sept. 6), starting May 31 and running through Sept. 10.
A maximum of 1,200 people was established as a number that would facilitate physical distancing. When that number is reached, members of the town's Bylaw Enforcement team and Cobourg Police Service have authority to close the beach to further entries.
The motion includes approval of certain costs to be funded from $172,000 in COVID-19 Recovery Funding that has been received by the town - $16,100 for fencing, $2,500 for signage and $300 per week as the cost of opening and closing the fencing.
Deputy Mayor Suzanne Seguin asked for clarity on what happens when a capacity of 1,200 is reached and how 1,200 people can be removed from the beach.
It's not a matter of removing people, municipal clerk Brent Larmer said – it's a matter of preventing further entries.
The signage on the fence will be the kind that can be flipped over to say “beach closed,” he said. And at that point, anyone leaving will not be allowed to re-enter.
Seguin wondered if some kind of loudspeaker set-up might be needed to make announcements in case a closure happens. The bylaw enforcement vehicle has a loudspeaker and a siren, Larmer said, but a different approach is contemplated – members of the enforcement team approaching pods of people to explain what's going on and answer any questions.
“We have to have proper signage, we have to have education, we have to make sure people respect one another and give space,” Larmer said.
“One problem might be people leaving the beach to go to the washroom – we may need port-a-potties on the beach in case we close down the area,” he added.
Public-health guidance dictates enhanced cleaning standards, Mayor John Henderson noted, so ample washroom capacity is important. Deputy Director of Community Services Teresa Behan noted that the transit shelter washrooms have just opened, so the two port-a-potties at that site are available.
The lifeguard stations are out on the beach, although no lifeguards were budgeted for. Behan said they would have signs that warn there is no lifeguard on duty, and one swims at one's own risk. There will be throw ropes and hooks at the stations in case of emergency, as well as signage reminding people to call 911 and providing a municipal address for response.
Chorley asked Chief Administrative Officer Tracey Vaughan if she would give verbal reports on how things are going at the beach at each committee-of-the-whole meeting, just as she gives COVID-19 verbal updates.
“Absolutely – we can absolutely add it as a standing item and ensure there's some statistics, information, updates, trends or issues we will be seeing at the beach that we can share with council,” Vaughan said.
Before Chorley's motion could come to a vote, Councillor Aaron Burchat made a motion of his own to go with the completely open option, arguing that people who work and children who are in school have limited opportunities to get to the beach on a weekday.
Burchat also argued that – after a year of shutdowns, orders, public-health guidance, succeeding waves of COVID-19 and all the adjustments that have been made – any further restrictions kind of muddy the picture for everyone.
Only Burchat and Councillor Nicole Beatty voted for this option.
They were also the only councillors voting for a subsequent amendment from Burchat – to have the beach fenced but open every day.
Chorley voiced her opinion that the option put forth in her motion “is the most balanced and proportional response to the situation we are facing.
“The people of Cobourg have spoken on this issue. The beach survey in February brought a record number of responses – over 1,400 – and most people favour a partial opening.”
Councillor Adam Bureau described the decision as “a slow and steady pace, one that gives us time to adjust.
“After getting tons of e-mail today from people wanting the beach open, I think this is a great way to start it off and move forward.”
The fence is the important feature for Mayor John Henderson.
“If the situation were, for some unknown reason, to go backward, this council can meet immediately to make recommendations as needed based on analytics, based on evidence,” Henderson said.
“It's a reasonable step in the right direction.”
Voting against the final motion, Councillor Brian Darling explained that his opposition was actually to the May 31 opening date. He would have preferred to see an opening closer to June 14, which is when the provincial government – if vaccination numbers permit – plans to begin phasing in reopenings.
“This is a tough one for all of us,” Darling said.
“We have all received numerous e-mails, both pro and against opening the beach. Personally I think it's a little early.
“I'd like to err on the side of safety. Even if we opened July 1, we'd have a good summer.”
Chorley countered that outdoor exercise is already being encouraged in very small groups, even now before the Stay-At-Home Order is expected to be lifted June 2.
Beatty asked staff if there had been any consideration of a policy of only admitting Cobourg residents to the beach. Vaughan said this is problematic on many levels, including the rights of everyone – resident and non-resident alike – to access public parks and amenities.
Arbitrary limitations like this fly in the face of the town's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ideals, she added, and to ask for a photo ID to prove one's town of residence could be a slippery slope.
