By: Michael Bennett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Ridgetown Independent News

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent still plans on retaining ownership and operations of Clearville Park after council voted unanimously to defer a motion on its future at the July 27 meeting.

Administration recommended maintaining Clearville Park as a municipal operation and adopting higher user fee rates for campers for a five-year period, starting in 2027, to address the full cost recovery of the current funding gap.

A study estimated $4.5 million in capital investment is required to upgrade Clearville Park’s infrastructure over the next 10 years, with approximately $3 million for the replacement of water and sanitary main lines as the major expense.

However, South Kent Ward 2 Councillor Anthony Ceccecci was successful in entering a new motion to defer a decision so administration can investigate options and recommendations to prioritize infrastructure and operational needs at the park and explore revenue partnerships and investments so the fee increase on campers is spread out over a longer time frame.

The report proposed a rate increase that 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, as the proposed increase would see the annual cost rise to $2,085.58 in 2027 and up to $3,839.15 by 2031.

“I really think that we have the opportunity to look at the asset and come up with a more creative approach than we currently have on the floor,” Ceccacci said in delivering his new motion.

His motion also included ideas to improve operational efficiencies, maximize existing assets, including transient sites, and for administration to return to council with suitable options to support the long-term viability of the park while maintaining municipal ownership and operations.

“I’m hoping we can look at phasing in the increases over a longer duration as well as limiting some of the capital investments to make it more affordable for the folks out there,” Ceccacci said.

The day before the July 27 council meeting, Ceccacci accepted an invitation from Blenheim area residents who have season campsites at Clearville to tour the facility.

The group took Ceccacci around the campgrounds to highlight some of their concerns and offered remedial suggestions.

“Obviously there’s a resignation that fees will be going up, but this was less about the fees going up and more about some efficiencies on what they want to see and don’t want to see,” Ceccacci said of the tour.

“My own perspective, they want to see some improvements to the park, but they’re not looking for a grandiose operation; they’re very content with a quiet campground.”

“They were very complimentary to the change in staffing; they’ve definitely noticed the improvements since the management changes.”

Ceccacci said there wasn’t enough time from his meeting with the campers to get into deep discussion with administration before the July 27 meeting, but staff agreed to take more time to consider more options for improving the infrastructure and fee increase structure.

“There’s no timeline; we have time to look at this before next season,” Ceccacci said. “The most important thing is to have a little bit more collaboration to find a common area where we can save some money and operate more efficiently.”

Ceccacci said he checked with other local councillors before the July 27 meeting to make sure none of them were planning to enter any kind of motion.

Morena McDonald said she was happy to support Ceccacci’s deferral motion.

“A lot of the users are glad that we’re not going to be divesting it,” McDonald said, as council originally voted to divest Clearville Park as a cost-saving measure during the Budget Update in Nov. 2024 until Ward 3 Councillor John Wright entered a successful motion in Feb. 2025 to defer the divestment until a full consultation had been completed along with a report with options for full-cost recovery.

“At this point, I think it’s important to have a vision for the park for future users and existing ones too,” stated McDonald. “I’m glad to see that we’re reconsidering the phase-in approach because there have been concerns about phasing it over five years versus 10.”

Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrrin also voiced his support of the motion for deferral.

“There is a huge opportunity; it’s a wonderful park, and I think with the right investment and everyone looking at it creatively, I think we can make it even better,” Canniff said.

Clearville is the oldest public park in Chatham-Kent, dating back to 1816. The 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 with 125 seasonal sites and 32 transient sites, a community park, a woodlot, public parking, a playground, a picnic shelter, a boat launch, and beachfront access.