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44 NEWS Bronte Harbour boat launch ramp likely not available for 2018 Flooding along the Oakville shoreline in May 2017. Graham Paine/Metroland C | High water I levels have .c z severely | damaged ramp, | which was 8 already in need o f repairs DAVID LEA dlea@oakvillebeaver.com The Bronte Harbour boat launch ramp, which was unavailable for much of 2017, probably won't be available for 2018. The town's parks and open space director Chris Mark said the ramp was al­ ready scheduled for re­ pairs when high water lev­ els forced its closure in late spring 2017. That flooding did heavy damage to the ramp, which will need to be fixed before any boats can make use of it. "The launch ramp is in between two retaining walls and one of those re­ taining walls was badly damaged in the high water to the point where it is al­ most falling into the creek," said Mark. "That wall is integral to supporting that side of the launch ramp." Those budgeted repairs for the ramp itself will cost around $325,000. The damaged retaining wall is expected to cost an­ other $400,000, which is not budgeted and which town council must approve. Mark said the ramp needs to be fixed in con­ junction with the retaining wall and as such nothing can happen until the addi­ tional funding is available. The matter is expected to come before council dur­ ing the first quarter of 2018. Even then, the ramp get­ ting the necessary funding is not a forgone conclusion. Mark emphasized the 2017 flooding damaged nu­ merous town properties and council will need to de­ termine what gets priority. "There is only so much money available," said Mark. "We've got Dingle Park that's closed off, we've got pieces of Coronation Park that are closed off, we've got pieces of Carrington Promenade that are closed off and we've got the launch ramp that is closed." Even if council allocates the needed funding for the ramp, Mark said, the town must get a permit from Conservation Halton for the construction and that process could result in ad­ ditional delays. "There may be restric­ tions on when we can actu­ ally do that work," said Mark. "Conservation Halton might say, 'You can only fix the wall from Nov. 15 on­ ward because of fisheries issues.'" Between the funding and permit issues Mark said he expects much if not all of the 2018 boating sea­ son will be over by the time the launch ramp is up and running. Having the construction complete in time for the start of the 2019 season is more realistic, he says. Mark said the Bronte Harbour boaters who pay mooring fees should not be severely impacted as the harbour does have a crane available to get those boats into the water at the start of the season. The ones who will feel the ramp closure the most, he said, are the out-of- towners and day fishers who come later. For those individuals, Mark said, a launch ramp is available at Oakville Harbour. "It is a double launch ramp. It was open much of last summer. We did have some issues with over­ crowding, some parking is­ sues," said Mark. "We are going to try and manage that better this year with staff on hand who can hopefully assist with directing traffic at the launch ramp." Mark said hundreds of boats are launched from the Bronte Harbour ramp each season. E 8 § O 'Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP Congratulates Tanya Leedale on becoming Managing Partner We are pleased to announce that Tanya Leedale has been appointed M anaging Partner fo r our F irm . Tanya is curren tly a partner and the Head o f our Corporate Department. She has practiced la w fo r 30 years. D u rin g that tim e, Tanya has developed a strong reputation as one o f the preem inent legal practitioners in corporate law. We congratulate Tanya on th is w e ll earned position, and lo o k fo rw ard to her leadership in the F irm 's fu ture grow th and direction. Tanya can be reached at: 905.842.8030 Em ail: leedale@ omh.ca O'Connor M acLeo d H a n n a llp 700 K e rr Street, O akville , O N, L 6K 3W 5 w w w.om h.ca OPEN HOUSE IN OUR FRENCH CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL French immersion students are welcome ECO LE S E C O N D A IR E C A T H O L IQ U E SA IN TE-TRIN ITE Tuesday, January 23, 2018 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 2600, Grand Oak Trail, Oakville T 905-339-0812 * MonA&ensr C0NSEIL SC0LAIRE CATHOLIQUE Visit us! And find out more about registration. MyFrenchHighSchool.ca mailto:dlea@oakvillebeaver.com mailto:leedale@omh.ca http://www.omh.ca OPEN HOUSE ECOLE SECONDAIRE CATHOLIQUE SAINTE-TRINITE Tuesday, January 23, 2018 MonA&ensr Visit us! MyFrenchHighSchool.ca