The fence may still be there, but the Victoria Park beach is open every day now.
The motion at Cobourg council this week originally called for the fence to be disassembled and kept handy in case of trouble – trouble being any change in provincial or public-health direction that makes limiting access an imperative.
“No other beach, to my understanding, has such a perimeter,” Councillor Nicole Beatty pointed out.
But Deputy Director of Community Services Teresa Behan advised that it takes a full crew of eight at least five to six hours to install that fence.
“In an emergency, I can't see that even being practical at all,” Deputy Mayor Suzanne Seguin commented.
The motion calls for the fence to stay in place until Sept. 7 so that it can be a resource in the event that beach access must be restricted for any reason – a scenario that could be invoked entirely on the authority of the Cobourg Police Service and Cobourg's bylaw-enforcement officers.
And Behan said that the openings can be enlarged for easier access.
The fence is a rental, and the motion calls for this cost and that of signage to be covered under the COVID-19 Recovery Fund – the fence to the tune of $16,100 and $2,500 for signage.
Councillor Aaron Burchat made a motion for an amendment that would open the beach immediately and ditch the fencing entirely.
“Let's open up the beach and move past all this,” Burchat urged.
“I really don't like fencing. I understand why we did it last year, but we really have to move on and get past this.”
With only himself and Beatty supporting the amendment, it failed and discussion reverted to the original motion – which passed with only Seguin voting in opposition.