The mystery of who owns a floating dock — and what purpose it serves — that has been seen docked along Barrie’s waterfront over the past few weeks has become clearer.
The operation, called Barrie Watersports, is owned by business partners based in Wasaga Beach, called Wasaga Watersports.
The group is offering jet ski rentals from the wooden platform, along with pontoon boat excursions and running small jet boat watersports, such as tubing, wakeboarding and waterskiing. Fishing is another option available.
“In Barrie, we don’t want to upset the already established clubs, like rowing, or the dragon boats, and the yacht racing club, among others,” said John Talbot, one of the partners in the company, addressing concerns that have been raised online and with the city.
“Say, if Wednesday night is (yacht) race night, we just close down earlier,” added Talbott. “It’s all about respecting the waterfront and the established clubs and organizations that use (the bay).”
He said he knew there was going to be some backlash with placing the large floating structure on Kempenfelt Bay close to the city, “so let’s just build this thing off site, we’ll move it in, and done.”
Photos of what looked like a patio on floats had been circulating on several local Facebook group pages this week, with many users wondering about its use, as well as the potential risks of such a platform.
“I think it shocked some people,” Talbott said. “But most, if not all, the people we talked to loved the look and the design, and they like the idea of what we are doing. There’s always people that don’t like stuff.”
He said they contacted the City of Barrie and asked if the municipality had any issues or claim to the Barrie waterfront, and at that time the city said no, and Talbott added, “anything that is on the surface of the water is considered federal.”
Previously, Scott LaMantia, manager of marketing and communications for Access Barrie, said the city was aware of the structure, adding enforcement services staff have had discussions with the private business operator with respect to the operations and other authorities with jurisdiction have been advised of the operations.
When asked what authority would have jurisdiction in this type of situation, LaMantia said it would likely fall under Transport Canada’s purview.
Talbott said the city advised him to check with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, “so we did that, and they said, ‘As long as you don’t touch shore, or install stuff into the bottom of the lake, then that is not our jurisdiction, either. You are kind of free to do what you want,’” he claims.
“We obviously planned a little bit bigger than maybe what they were anticipating.”
Talbott noted he also spoke to Transport Canada, and he said it had no issues with the setup due to the structure not being motorized.
The company plans on offering its watersports services this summer until around Sept. 15, and it is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
