Council gives OK to Aqua City proposal for Erieau beach

Hoping the idea will make a big splash with families, Chatham-Kent council threw its backing behind the Aqua City proposal for Erieau on Monday night.

Earlier this month, the business pitched the plan to the municipality for an inflatable water park at the beach, which drew many supporters as well as critics.

South Kent County. Ryan Doyle entered the successful motion to take the next steps. However, federal and provincial requirements must still be met before opening.

Doyle said he hoped to provide further details and eliminate misinformation about the project.

“When we went forward with that first (social media) video, there wasn’t really any information in there, or very little, so people just kind of made up whatever information they didn’t have,” he told media after the meeting .

A meeting was later held with the Erieau community to address concerns. Doyle added that while the amount of support increased, there will still be some people who aren’t happy with it.

His motion asked that council authorize the general manager of infrastructure and engineering services to negotiate and approve a lease and profit-sharing agreement with Aqua City.

This would include use of portions of municipal land for a kiosk tent and storage container, and non-exclusive parking rights.

Doyle said the backup location at CM Wilson Conservation Area isn’t possible, since water quality in the summer won’t be suitable.

“It’s good enough right now, but it will probably fail once it gets hotter,” he said of the recent testing results. “It had everything but the water quality.”

Aqua City owners Sam Tudorica and Michael Fife gave a presentation to council earlier in the evening outlining their plans.

Users will pre-book online, with life-jackets mandatory. Lifeguards will be on site.

Weather and wave conditions will determine whether the park will be open at a given time, with the inflatables deflated in the event of high winds.

These inflatables would be about 30 meters to 45 meters off-shore, anchored to large cement blocks on the lake bottom. The park would also be located far enough from the pier to avoid undertow issues.

If senior levels of government give their approval, the aim is to open the park this summer. However, Doyle said the exact date is yet to be determined.

“Ideally, we can get this thing going and in the water by the end of June, or sometime in July,” he said. “The sooner the better, in my mind. But again, all the I’s have to be dotted and T’s have to be crossed.”

However, some at the council table wanted to see a safety plan before voting on any motion.

Chatham County. Alysson Storey said she supported the idea, but was uneasy about moving ahead with it Monday.

“I understand the need to get things in place for the summer and have folks enjoying it,” she said. “But I do not feel comfortable tonight supporting it.”

Assistant Fire Chief Adam Walters told council the project would have to meet federal and provincial regulations, adding that a safety plan would be required for that.

“The expectation is to have that safety plan in place,” he said.

Mayor Darrin Canniff said he’s been hearing much buzz about the project and believes council needed to act quickly.

He called it important for Chatham-Kent to be “nimble” when considering opportunities.

“It’s investments like this in our community that are going to keep people here,” Canniff said.

“I’m confident in all the procedures (the company is) going to go through.”