The final stages of opening Oakville Harbour's public lands is still in negotiation with the last agreement being between the Town and the Oakville Yacht Squadron (OYS). It is the land situated just south of Lakeshore Road on the west side of Sixteen Mile Creek. The area is commonly referred to as Shipyard Park.
OYS has been leasing the property from the town for many years and has provided the community with a club for the local sailing community. Over the past 70 years they have hosted many regattas and run an excellent sailing school.
A Facebook post recently uploaded indicated that the town and the club were at odds over what was expected, so to get to the truth, instead of taking the post at face value, we reached out to Ward 2 Councillor Cathy Duddeck and the OYS Commodore.
According to the town, the only interest is to make the board walk by OYS accessible to the public, and according to the club there is no problem with doing that. The issue is how to do it so that both the public and club members are safe, which is what the two parties are actually discussing.
There is no interest in having OYS moved, or taking away the sailing club and school. The town recognizes that OYS has played a vital role in developing the community. Oakville Yacht Squadron also recognizes that they are leasing town property, and there is a desire for the community to have easier access to our waterfront.
Facebook is a wonderful way of communicating with each other, but it is important to remember that negative news, even if it is false, can have serious repercussions.