The Municipality of North Hatley has decided to take over and to manage the activities at the beach.

It is with regret that the members of the Board of Directors of the North Hatley Recreational Society took the decision, on April 11, to reject unanimously the Municipality’s conditions that were imposed concerning its summer activities. See below (Context leading to the decision to suspend the NHRS activities).

Because of this refusal, it will suspend all of its activities for the summer and winter periods during the year 2018-2019.

Therefore, we invite our members to disregard the activities described in the previous email.

The NHRS will continue its mission of promoting recreational activities in the community

The NHRS Board of Directors wishes to confirm that, despite this decision to suspend its activities, it intends to pursue with as much energy and enthusiasm as before its mission to contribute to the accessibility of recreational activities to all families of the region.

The Municipality of North Hatley will take over

The terms and conditions of the activities that will be offered at the beach have not yet been established, but the Municipality of North Hatley will – in all likelihood – take over.

We invite our members who wish to obtain more information to communicate directly with the municipality. Please visit the village website (link below).

Board of directors

Mathieu Devinat, president

Michael Munkittrick, secretary

Carrol Haller

Dave Blodgett

Steve Percy

Darryl Williams

Elaine Lebourveau

Kirsta Fidler

John McCrea

**

Context leading to the decision to suspend the NHRS activities

Mission of the NHRS: offer recreational activities to the whole community

For more than 50 years, the NHRS has offered high-quality, safe and low-cost recreational activities for families living in the region. Among those activities, we find:

• Summer: beach surveillance, swimming lessons, sailing lessons, tennis lessons, golf lessons, special activities on Fridays for children, table tennis, foosball, volleyball courts, board games, reading area and access to tennis courts, etc.

• Winter: the skating rink and skating area in North Hatley Park.

Funding for NHRS activities: the product of volunteers and donations from all over the region

In order to finance its activities and to ensure a large access at a low cost, the NHRS organizes fundraising activities, such as breakfasts, i.e. the Mother’s Day race, the Antic Show, dancemechoui and garage sale. The success of these activities rests on the participation of more than 70 volunteers from all municipalities in the region. Thanks to them and the contributions of generous donors, the SRNH has raised more than $ 150,000 since 2012, which has been fully reinvested in the community.

In fact, these funds have been able to offer, year after year, quality services at a moderate cost and to finance the purchase of, among other things, tennis courts ($ 60,000), sailing boats (more than 20,000 $), to help renovate the cottage on the beach (over $ 40,000), and sports equipment (i.e. ping pong tables, zodiac boat, zamboni, etc.). Of this amount, more than $ 100,000 directly benefited the Municipality of North Hatley in the form of donations for renovations of their beach house.

The subject of disagreement: the memorandum of understanding imposed by the municipality

Since 2017, the summer activities of the NHRS are the object of a memorandum of understanding with the owner of the beach, the municipality of North Hatley, in which the terms of the services offered by each party are laid down.

At the time of its renewal, the municipality has decided to modify the initial agreement by introducing new conditions that it expressly described as “non-negotiable”. Given that these conditions are contrary to the NHRS’ mission and to the interest of its members, the board of directors had no choice but to reject the proposal and suspend its activities for the current year.

Among the conditions imposed by the municipality that following have been firmly rejected by the NHRS:

1) Substantial increase in pricing for non-residents of North Hatley from $ 200 to $ 300:

NHRS’s refusal rest on the fact that the fees for non-residents have recently been increased (from $ 120 to $ 200) and that an additional increase was likely to restrict access to activities for lowincome families, which goes against the mission of the NHRS.

2) Free access to the beach for North Hatley residents without a financial compensation from the municipality:

The municipality insists that North Hatley residents be granted free access to the beach, therefore preventing the NHRS of imposing entrance and registration fees for its services.

As a result of this measure, it is estimated that the NHRS would lose approximately $ 8,000, without any financial compensation by the municipality.

Residents of North Hatley already benefit from a different rate for the registration fees ($ 120 for a family instead of $ 200 for non-residents; free entrance for senior (60 and over) and their contribution, like that of other members, is essential to cover the costs of the activities offered by the NHRS.

In order to compensate for the shortfall caused by this measure, it would have been necessary to substantially increase the fees imposed on other non-resident members, which is highly unfair and goes against the mission of the NHRS.

3) Increased hours of beach monitoring without compensation from the municipality

The municipality has requested that the hours of operation at the beach be increased by one hour, without offering a financial compensation. The estimated costs associated to this obligation would be of $ 2,000.

4) Closing of the beach gates

Since last year, the municipality has decided to limit the access to the beach by locking the gate after service hours.

In the memorandum of understanding, the municipality wanted to impose on the NHRS the obligation to close the gates when the lifegard services would end. The NHRS submitted that could not comply with this obligation for the following reasons:

• There is no legal obligation to close public beaches outside monitoring hours;

• On the contrary, the NHRS obtained a legal opinion, that was communicated to the municipality, in which Me Nathalie Vézina suggested caution with regards to such a practice.

According to Me Vézina, an expert in the law of extra-contractual liability, foreclosure at a time when the temptation for users to access the water is clearly foreseeable. To close the gates under those circumstances could even be likely to increase the risks that the municipality be held responsible for accidents or drowning. Indeed, the risks of accidents and drowning are increased if users who wish to access the beach or water attempt to access it by other means. In addition, if an accident were to occur, access to the victim would be hindered by the presence of a locked gate. The same applies to the intervention of first responders, for example firefighters and ambulances, that would be called on the spot.

In the absence of legal advice to the contrary, the NHRS could not accept to expose itself to civil liability by locking the gates.

Moreover, the NHRS is deeply concerned about the impact of the closure of the beach outside the monitoring periods, especially during the months of May, June and September, where the good weather would make it possible to enjoy Lake Massawippi. Preventing access to one of the few public beaches is, according to the NHRS, a decline in the quality of life of residents of the region.

For all of these reasons, it is with regret that the members of the Board of Directors of the NHRS decided to reject the requirements imposed by the municipality during the renewal of the memorandum of understanding. The NHRS proposed that the initial agreement be renewed for a further year and that a bipartite committee be created to reflect on the services offered at the beach, but the municipality’s management categorically rejected this counter-proposal, pushing the NHRS to make the decision to suspend its activities.

Accueil

 

 

 

 

 

The opinions expressed on this website are those of their authors. Space on the website is provided as a service to the community and FANHCA, its administrators and host cannot be held responsible for any of the opinions expressed thereon.

(English follows)

North Hatley a toujours inspiré à ses résidents, à ses propriétaires, et aux gens des villages avoisinants l’amour de ce lieu unique – c’est pourquoi nous, et nos ancêtres, avons choisi de nous installer ici. Au fil des ans, cet amour s’est traduit par de nombreux actes :  dons de terrains à la ville, engagement pour son « amélioration », participation active des bénévoles dans les institutions qui nous unissent.

Malheureusement, à l’heure actuelle, l’administration municipale semble ne pas valoriser ce qui a traditionnellement fait de North Hatley une communauté. Il semble que dans sa volonté d’éliminer le bénévolat, qui a traditionnellement servi notre communauté, elle n’a pas compris l’importance de l’implication citoyenne au village de North Hatley, qui fait de celui-ci ce qu’il est, et sans doute dans l’esprit des instances dirigeantes, ce qu’il était.

Les terrains publics du village sont pris d’assaut – avec l’autorisation envisagée de permettre l’utilisation de la plage publique par une entreprise privée, mais aussi avec la discussion quant à la possibilité d’accepter que des commerces empiètent sur les parcs publics. Remplissons le parc de baseball de condos … pourquoi pas? Est-ce que tout cela se réalisera? Les résidents et propriétaires de North Hatley ne peuvent répondre à cette question, car on ne les consulte pas, on ne les informe pas, et on ne répond pas ouvertement et franchement à leurs questions. Mais que ces possibilités aient même été évoquées démontre incompréhension fondamentale de la part de l’administration municipale de l’importance que représentent les espaces publics pour ceux qui vivent à North Hatley.

Tout cela constitue une attaque eu égard à ce qui est propre à North Hatley, eu égard à ce qui fait de ce village un endroit pour tous; il s’agit d’une attaque contre l’usage public – plutôt que privé – de ces espaces: le parc de baseball, le parc Dreamland, le parc des vétérans, le Pavillon et la plage publique – des espaces dont la vocation a toujours été clairement comprise (elle est exprimée dans les actes de transmission des terrains qui ont été donnés au village, des actes agréés par les maires et les conseils du moment). Comprise, semblerait-il, jusqu’à maintenant.

Pourquoi donc, sous l’influence de ceux qui ne vivent pas dans ce village et dont le seul lien avec celui-ci est temporaire, soit l’emploi, devrions-nous abandonner ce qui caractérise le village? Pourquoi le maire et les conseillers ne font-ils pas preuve de leadership sur cette question?

Les conseillers et le maire sont soit inconscients de cette utilisation commerciale des espaces publics et de la volonté de réduire l’implication du public dans la vie du village, soit trop disposés à ne leur accorder aucune importance. Comme dans le cas du dernier développement dans la bataille opposant les bénévoles associés à la Société récréative de North Hatley (SRNH) d’un côté, et les administrateurs et le conseil municipal de l’autre, qui a conduit au retrait des bénévoles – provenant non seulement de North Hatley mais aussi des villages voisins – de cette institution vitale et de longue date. La municipalité fixe des conditions non négociables, en disant aux bénévoles : soit vous acceptez nos demandes, soit vous partez.

Ceux qui se servent de l’intimidation pensent pouvoir faire à leur tête, et quand ils pensent avoir du pouvoir, quand nous leur permettons de penser qu’ils ont du pouvoir, ils le prennent. À moins – et c’est très important pour nous tous en ce moment – à moins que nous, les résidents et propriétaires de North Hatley, ainsi que ceux des villages voisins, soutenions nos bénévoles et insistions sur le respect de ceux qui, depuis de nombreuses années, ont donné de leur temps, leur énergie et leurs terrains, au bénéfice de tous.

Faisons savoir que les fonctionnaires municipaux ne devraient pas essayer de dicter des termes aux bénévoles du SRNH; faisons savoir que nous n’acceptons pas la privatisation des espaces publics; faisons savoir que nous voulons que la « communauté » de North Hatley continue d’exister!

Cela est nécessaire maintenant, puisque nous, qui aimons ce village, qui y contribuons et qui sommes impliqués dans ses institutions, sommes actuellement assiégés.

-Paul St-Pierre

Les opinions exprimées sur ce site Web reflètent celles de leurs auteurs. L’espace est offert à titre de service à la communauté et FANHCA, ses administrateurs et son hébergeur ne peuvent en aucun cas être tenus responsables des opinions qui y sont émises.

North Hatley has always inspired in its residents, property owners, and neighbours a love of “place” – which is why we, and our ancestors, have chosen to live here. Over the years this love has found expression in many forms – gifts of land to the town, active engagement in its ‘improvement’, voluntary participation in the institutions that bind us together.

Unfortunately, at the present time, under the present administration, there seems to be no appreciation of what has traditionally made North Hatley a community; more than that, there seems to be a desire to erase and eliminate these ‘particularities’ of ‘place’ – particularities that point to what brings us together and leads to involvement in the affairs of the village, to what makes the village what it is, or at least, to what it has been.

The public land in the town is under siege – with the envisaged authorization of the use of the public beach by a private enterprise, but also the discussion of accepting commercial encroachments on public parks. Why not fill the ballpark with condos? Will these things come to pass? The residents and property owners of North Hatley don’t and can’t really know for certain, since we are not consulted, or kept informed, and our questions remain largely unanswered. But that these possibilities have even been and are being mooted shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the importance of public spaces for those who live in North Hatley.

These suggestions constitute attacks on what is essential to North Hatley, on what makes this village a space for all to enjoy, an attack on the public – rather than private – use of these lands: the ballpark, Dreamland Park, Memorial Park, the Pavillon and public beach – lands whose purpose has always been clearly understood (a purpose expressed in the deeds of the lands that were given, deeds agreed to by the mayors and councils of the moment). Understood, it would seem, until now.

Why, then, under the influence of those who do not live in this town and whose only connection to it is the temporary one of employment, should we give up on what has made the village what it is? Why the lack of leadership on the part of the mayor and the councillors on this question?

The councillors and mayor are either unaware of this potential loss of public space and of the attempt to discourage public involvement in village life or are too blithely willing to accord these no importance. As in the case of the latest development in the ongoing battle between the volunteers associated with the North Hatley Recreation Society (NHRS), and municipal officials and the town council, which has led to the bullied withdrawal of volunteers – from North Hatley but also from surrounding towns – from this long-standing and vital institution. The town sets non-negotiable conditions, telling the volunteers: either agree to our demands, or leave.

Bullies want their way and, when they think they have power, when we allow them to think they have power, they get it.  Unless – and this is very important for all of us at this point in time – unless we, the residents and property owners of North Hatley, as well as those of neighbouring towns, show support for our volunteers and insist on the respect of those who have, for many years, given of their time, energy, and land, for the benefit of us all.

Let it be known that municipal officials should not be dictating to the volunteers of the NHRS; let it be known that we do not accept the privatization of public spaces; let’s stand up and be counted as people who want the ‘community’ of North Hatley to continue to exist!

That is needed now, since we, those who love this village, those who contribute to and are involved in the institutions of this village, are presently under siege.

Paul St-Pierre

The opinions expressed on this website are those of their authors. Space on the website is provided as a service to the community and FANHCA, its administrators and host cannot be held responsible for any of the opinions expressed thereon.