NERWS Club's sailing school shows hundreds of students the ropes annually • Continued from page 16 The town charges a council-approved rate for the use of mooring slips. The OYS had countered with a purchase price of $81,455, a difference of around $16,500, but has since agreed to the town's price. The club has also re moved a gate, which Bur ton and the town's director of parks and open space Chris Mark said barred the public from accessing the public boardwalk. Perrenoud said instanc es where a gate was locked at the property was done for public safety, particu larly in the winter, and said he expects the town to ac knowledge that liability. With these concessions Burton backed away from the option to terminate the lease and on Feb. 26 brought forward a motion that would extend the For sythe property's previous lease until the end of the 2018 boating season, Oct. 31, 2018. The motion called for the removal of any fencing blocking public access to the boardwalk and public trail system. It also asked town staff to entertain proposals from OYS for its continued oper ations including occupa tion and operation of the fa cilities at the property after Oct. 31 as long as there is no impediment to the creation and operation of a town wa terside destination to serve the public. This agreement would require the OYS to come up with a proposal by the end of June. "It is my intention, my goal through all o f this to continue to have the OYS operate in the harbour. I be lieve that is true of every one on council," said Bur ton. "I hope this scoping of the town's ambition helps people understand that there is no intention of kill ing OYS and every inten tion of ensuring public ac cess to the waterfront." The 100 members and supporters of the OYS who were present for the coun cil meeting voiced concerns with this motion, specifical ly the portion dealing with a "town waterside destina tion." OYS representative Richard O'Hare said noth ing about the 97 Forsythe St., property being home to some kind of "town water side destination" was dis cussed during the previous two years of negotiations. "The OYS is not opposed to considering this, but this is not something we can possibly hope to define and consider by the end of June," said O'Hare. "We know how to sail; how to teach people to sail. We know how to have a cou ple of good parties, but we are not in a position to come back to the town with a pro posal to say we can run a public facility today. We are certainly open to the idea of it, but we don't want it to be tied into the condi tions of our lease." O'Hare noted the finan cial and land use elements of a potential agreement have been defined and called on council to ap prove those terms so the agreement could move for ward. Multiple speakers said it is unclear what the "town waterside destination" would actually be and said it is something that needs to be discussed outside of the OYS lease agreement. Other speakers talked about the club's history and what it has contributed to the community. "I would like to address today to town council what the OYS community really is. It is not just a building and a collection of boats parked at a dock. That's what you get in a commer cial marina. Rather we are a community that gives life, passion and character to the Oakville Harbour," said Leslie Frenke, longtime OYS member. "We moved to Oakville in part because of the OYS and what it offered. It is a not-for-profit organization, a self-help club with a sail ing school. This is not an elite club of wealthy yachts men, but rather a collection of sailors passionate about sailing and willing to share their love of sailing with others. We found some thing far greater in this club than we ever imag ined. Our family has been a member of this club for 28 years. Our three sons have literally grown up in the club in an active healthy environment under the watchful eyes of many par ents." Frenke said each year around 250 students attend the club's sailing school. She said in recent years the club has held three fundraisers for two OYS members who have re presented Canada at the Olympics. She noted the club was responsible for restoring a historical lighthouse at the harbour, which has be come an Oakville icon. She pointed out it has al so held regattas thereby raising awareness of the town and participated in Easter Seals Regattas, which have raised funds for Easter Seals and given chil dren with disabilities and their families the experi ence of a day out on the wa ter. With around 20 delega tions scheduled to speak about the OYS issue the council meeting ended be fore a decision could be made. That said several coun cillors have voiced the idea that the "town waterside destination" could be dealt with in some kind of supple mental agreement separate from the lease agreement. The meeting was sched uled to resume Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. $2,500 WEIGHT LOSS GRANT Do You Have More than 20 lbs to Lose? - Apply Now! 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