A Small Community Just East of London is in a position to pay off a cold war-era submarine, a bad debt that’s hung over it for a decade, its administrative top official says.
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The Municipality of Bayham, Which Sits on the Shore of Lake Erie in Elgin County and Has 7,000 Residents, was Saddled with more than $ 6 million in debt after backing a loan to bring a cold warine to the lakeside village of port burwell as a hoped-for tour.
“The Last 10 Years Have Been Very Difficult Financial Having To Keep Things in Line While We Service the Debt On The Ojibwa,” Chief Administrator Thomas Thayer Said. “Should Council Direct, we will be happy to get out from under it and move Forward.”
The Municipal Government, in 2012, Agreed to Guarantee the debt from the Elgin Military Museum related to the hmcs ojibwa Project, an Amount that included Bringing the Oberon-Class Submarine to Port Burwell and Converting It Into A Museum.
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When the Loan Went Into Default in 2015, Bayham was on the hook for more than $ 6 million.
Bayham has been paying down the debt ever since at a cost of about $ 330,600 a year. The Municipality’s Total annual Budget is about $ 11 million.
Bayham has been sold off several surplus municipal properies-Including Two Small-toWn Community Centers, A formal Office and A Public Works Yards-To Reduce its Spending and Support A Fund to Repay The Hmcs Ojibwa Loan.
But now, with a 2024 surplus of about $ 1 million, Thayer Said they is in a position to pay the entirees debt.
COUCILLORS Will Decide March 7 If they will follow the Staff Recommendation to do so, he said.
“I don ot know if they will go for it, but staff is hopeful that they will,” Thayer Said. “Based on the surplus we rancidly, Council is in a position to remove the debt and it’s a good financial position to be in.”
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But Thayer Won’t Say How Paying Off The Debt Will Affect Port Burwell’s Derelict Lighthouse.
In January 2023, Bayham Shotted Its 183-Year-Old Lighthouse due to Structural Stability Issues.
“The Lighthouse is a total Different Matter,” Thayer Said. “Council has not formally provided as to How to Proceed with the Lighthouse.”
The Lighthouse is a Designated Heritage Property and Port of the Port Burwell Marine Museum and Historic Lighthouse Tourist Site. It hasn’t been in use as a working lighthouse since 1963.
The Octagonal Landmark has eight Wooden Structural Columns Set in a Concrete Base. Over time, water has caused the columns to deteriorate. Some are 80 per hundred compromised. Stabilization efforts Began Last Year. The estimated cost of a full repair is $ 1.5 million.
Tracy Farmer, who Lives across the road from the Lighthouse, Said She “is the happy the sub will be paid” and added: “It’s a Priority, you have to pay for your Mistakes. But i’m hoping it’s not at the cost of losing the lighthouse.
“Most people surround here will be absolutely enolder, as would i, if we give get to fix the lightthouse because we paid for the sub. People will be fuming. ”
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