Calabogie, Ont. residents win initial fight in battle to keep docks

CALABOGIE, ONT. -

Residents along Madawaska Street in Calabogie, Ont. have, for now, won the fight to keep their docks in the water.

At the beginning of the summer, waterfront residents on the street were told their docks had to be permanently removed by Oct. 1.

After non-waterfront residents in town came forward requesting to install docks along Madawaska Street, the township decided that no residents should be favoured over others when it comes to dock access on the township owned land.

"Do we have the right to refuse them and accept others," questioned Greater Madawaska Mayor Brian Hunt.

"So it needed a study and that was our intention from the beginning."

Waterfront resident Kevin Lentz is the last of his neighbours to still have his boat and dock in the water, and says he has no plans to permanently remove it.

"We pay waterfront taxes down here," Lentz tells CTV News.

"That's why you can't have every person in Calabogie come down and build a dock because they don't pay taxes to have waterfront privileges."

Following community consultations at the end of August, it was agreed the docks could remain until October 2023.

"I'm very grateful that they came to their senses a little bit," said Lentz

"They can put them back in again next year," said Hunt. "The committee will look at what should be done with them."

Others on the street are not happy the status quo is being challenged.

"The township wants to control what we've been doing for the last 20 years," says Luke Goulette, who has a dock on Calabogie Lake.

He says despite beating the Oct. 1 deadline and having their docks in for another year, they do not consider it a win for residents on the street.

"It's still a fight simply because the letter that we received from the township states that they can rescind this offer at any point in time," said Goulette.

Many residents are hopeful new faces to the municipal council will change their fortunes following the Oct. 24 election.

"It will be interesting to see what happens next year should people want to stick with the fight and put their docks back in," said Goulette, "or where it will go from here."