By: Michael Bennett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Ridgetown Independent News
It looks like Clearville Park will be retained and operated by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, pending Council’s approval at Monday night’s meeting. In its report to Council, administration recommends maintaining Clearville Park as a municipal operation and adopting user fee rates in 2027 to address the full cost recovery of the current funding gap.
The item was originally scheduled for discussion and voting during the July 13 meeting but was pulled from the agenda earlier in the day. Because of the length of the July 13 meeting, an additional meeting had to be scheduled for this coming Monday to deal with several deferred items, including the future of Clearville Park.
Council approved the divestment of Clearville Park and adjacent parkland as a cost-savings measure during the 2025 Budget Update in November 2024. A study conducted by Chorley + Bisset Consulting Engineers estimated that $4.5 million in capital investment is required to renew Clearville Park’s infrastructure over the next 10 years, with a $3 million replacement of water and sanitary main lines being the major expense.
Ward 3 East Kent Councillor John Wright entered an unsuccessful motion during deliberations to remove the divestment of Clearville Park from the budget, but it was defeated 11-7. The decision was upsetting to the many seasonal campers, who spend upwards of six months at Clearville, as they had no advance warning that the facility was on the chopping block.
Undeterred, Wright brought the matter back to a regular council meeting in February 2025. Wright received unanimous support for his motion to defer the divestment until a full consultation had been completed with camp users and area residents, along with a report detailing options for full-cost recovery operations, divestment options, and partnership opportunities.
Wright is naturally pleased that the site will remain a campground under municipal ownership. “I’m glad to hear it’s staying, but they’re going to bring the cost (fees) up to make it cost-effective,” Wright said. “It’s been low-cost out there for a long time; that’s why people go there. But if it was privately owned, they’d have to come in and do all the updates and it would go up anyways,” Wright said.
The report to council states the proposed rate increase would be phased in over a five-year period to address the current funding gap, as part of a broader transition toward full cost recovery over a 10-year horizon.
The fee for a regular seasonal camping lot in 2026 is $1,790.50. The proposed increase would see the fee increase to $2,085.58 in 2027, followed by hikes to $2,429.29 in 2028, $2,829.64 in 2029, $3,295.97 in 2030, and $3,839.15 in 2031. There are similar projected fee increases for the other size camping lots, cottages, boat parking, and other amenities.
The public park is the oldest in Chatham-Kent, dating back to 1816. Clearville Park was purchased by the former Township of Orford in 1980 and ownership was assumed by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent through amalgamation in 1998.
The 80-acre property consists of a trailer park, community park, and woodlot. The trailer park has 125 seasonal sites and 32 transient sites along with a store, washroom facilities, main office, storage building, and beach access. The community park features a boat launch, public parking, playground, picnic shelter, and beachfront access.
The report stated all seasonal lots are full, with 65 individuals on a waitlist. An in-person information session was held last Sept. 17 with approximately 90 individuals in attendance. Feedback was gathered from attendees and online through Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent’s Clearville Park Infrastructure Review. The presentation remains posted on the Let’s Talk webpage: www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca/clearville