Tourists vs. Residents vs. Businesses

Draft community plans stir debate in Port Franks, Grand Bend

By Casey Lessard

EDA Collaborative Inc. presented its draft community plans for Lambton Shores at three separate meetings May 6-8, with some praising and others panning the progress.

Port Franks
Moves to make Port Franks a “lakeside residential natural neighbourhood” mean advertising signs will be dropped from the main entrance to the community, a move that is frustrating business owners.
“They’re trying to drive away all of our tourists by taking down our signs,” says Christine Orosz of Christine’s Marina Bar & Grill. “They should at least have something saying there are businesses in our town.”
The Welcome signs include advertisements for Port Franks businesses; businesses pay an annual fee to advertise on the signs. In his presentation, EDA’s Bruce Cudmore noted community feedback indicated residents want signs with no advertising.
“You’re not going to please everybody,” says Ward 3 councillor Mark Simpson, “but it’s more of an aesthetic facelift.”
“It lets people know there are businesses here,” Orosz says. “Port Franks is extremely hard to get around if you don’t know the area.”
Cudmore concurred that visitors “get lost very easily” in the community, and the plan includes better signage to solve the problem. The draft plan hopes to make the community more natural and less urban with multi-use trails, more opportunities for recreation, and seating to enjoy community gardens.
The goal is to “protect Port Franks’ quiet beauty,” Cudmore says. The plan calls for pedestrian and cycle connections within Port Franks and to Grand Bend.
Betty Urbanski of Harbourside Trailer Park has concerns about the plan.
“Port Franks is at the end of the road. To me this (plan) discourages business. How many locals come to my store? Not very many. Who is riding bikes in Port Franks? Our campers and boaters.”
Wayne Nelson, who lives in the east part of the village with his wife Maureen, disagrees.
“We have a safety issue because there are so many cyclists and walkers on the road,” he told the meeting, saying he’s excited by the prospect of a better trail system.

Grand Bend
The May 8 meeting in Grand Bend met less resistance from a much larger audience. The Grand Bend plan involves discussion about how best to design sidewalks, roads, parking, bridges, trails and street fixtures. Few questioned the designs, which aim to create a “sustainable countryside lifestyle,” with Grand Bend billed as an “attractive residential community,” “lakeside destination,” and site for “regional tourism.”
Among EDA’s recommendations: two pedestrian bridges over the river connecting the River Road area to the main core; more pedestrian crosswalks over Highway 21; a road connecting the Legion parking lot to Main Street East and a centre median on Main Street between Highway 21 and the health centre; shrinking Main Street to three lanes with parking on the south side only; redeveloping the former casino site with underground parking, retail on the main floor and residential on the second; and renewed intersection with paving stones and an overhead Welcome sign at the entrance.
Grand Bend resident Bob Sharen is not impressed, noting businesses are being left out of the equation.
“Why spend money fixing the physical appearance of the street when it’s the physical appearance of the buildings on the street that’s most of the problem?”
Ward 1 councillor John Dehondt says the market must drive change.
“Fifty years ago there was a casino. Then (Grand Bend) became more youth oriented. With the aging of our population, there will be stores that cater to that clientele.”
Sharen thinks the change needs to be driven by town council.
“Homes pay less tax but get more services. Why not address the issue of the extremely high commercial taxes and the ability to have a sustainable business when you’re paying that kind of money?”
Dehondt says giving the community a facelift is the first step, not the last.
“We can fix and change the things we can control. Step one is to develop a master plan. I think you’ll see a lot of it redeveloped over the next few decades.”

No Beach Access signs causing friction

By Casey Lessard

Confusion over the wording of a new No Beach Access sign in Port Franks seems ill-timed to coincide with the start of a new beach season.
‘I’ve had a lot of people come in and ask about the sign,” says Christine Orosz of Christine’s Marina Bar & Grill. “They feel they’re not wanted and there are people here who have lived here forever and don’t realize they’re still allowed to go to the beach.
“If you don’t have a cottage or home here, you’re not supposed to be on the beach. Residents of Grand Bend, for example, are not supposed to use the beach.”
The beach is owned by the Port Franks Beach Homeowners Association and was deeded to the village as part of the transfer agreement from the family that owned it previously. Technically it is private property, but has been used by the public for years.
“We’re going to have a look at the wording,” says Ward 3 councillor Mark Simpson. “The intent was to help the beach homeowners’ association. All the beaches in Port Franks are private; not a lot of people know that.
“We have a lot of issues with parking and issues with people parking on lawns, leaving their garbage, and defecating. The London Free Press and some other tourism magazines are promoting Port Franks as a gem, which it is. We’re trying to quell some of the crowds, but now the business community’s upset because of that. It’s a catch-22. We’re trying to work it out. It’s a work in progress.”
Orosz is still concerned about the ramifications of the sign’s prominence at the main entrance to the village.
“If you were looking for a home to buy in this area, you would see that sign and not want to buy property on or near the water because you would think you don’t have beach access.”
Simpson disagrees.
“The deed clearly states that any resident of Port Franks shall not be denied walk-in access to the beach,” Simpson says. “Technically, (cottagers and visitors to the trailer park) would be allowed. But if someone came from Windsor for the day, technically they would not be allowed.
“They’re not standing there checking people for ID. It’s a private beach, but they allow public access as long as people use it responsibly.”

Paint the town red (with flowers)

Lambton Shores hopes residents will get in the spirit and make their community bloom with red this summer. The Lambton Shores Communities in Bloom committee is organizing initiatives to compete for the 2008 provincial title, which is judged based on eight criteria for all municipal, commercial/industrial and residential properties in the municipality: tidiness, environmental awareness, community involvement, natural and cultural heritage, landscaped areas, floral designs, urban forest, turf and ground cover.
The theme for Lambton Shores is red, so you are encouraged to “Think RED for your garden bed” when purchasing your spring plantings.
Other initiatives include the Trash Bash Day held last month, Adopt a Pot/Plot program, a Lambton Shores “Brag Book” for the judges tour, the  promotion of Lambton Shores “Going Green” strategies, and the Garden of the Week. 
For the Adopt a Pot/Plot program, a family, business or community group chooses to look after a planter arrangement or plot of land identified by the committee.
The Garden of the Week program will launch in the last week of June. Winners will receive a sign to be placed in their garden.
Judges will tour the community in the summer, and the committee plans to ensure they experience a sunset on the Grand Bend beach. The judges will also meet with local community group representatives to discuss the Grand Bend projects that demonstrate the eight judging criteria.
For more information about Communities in Bloom in your town, your contacts are Shirley Andraza and Christine Bregman for Grand Bend, and Grace Dekker for Port Franks.

Check your fundamentals

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin
http://www.sandhillsgolf.ca

Club head: Position your club head at right angles to your intended target line.
Grip: The back of your left hand facing your target, looking down you should see between two and three knuckles on your left hand. Right hand palm facing the target, right thumb left side of the grip and there should be a line formed between the right thumb and forefinger, if you extended that line it should point to your right shoulder. (opposite for you lefties)
Feet: Shoulder width apart, slightly wider for your longer clubs and slightly closer together for your short irons.
Ball position: Long clubs, keep the ball forward in your stance (closer to the target) and then move the ball progressively back until the middle of your stance with the pitching wedge or sand wedge.
Posture: Tilt over from the waist keeping your weight positioned on the middle of your feet and with a slight leg flex. Your arms should hang straight down from your shoulders. Keep your spine as straight as possible.
Body Alignment: Position your body parallel left of your target line (think of railway line tracks) your club head and ball on one track and your feet and body on the other. (Parallel right of your target line for you lefties)
Practice these SIX fundamentals and save a few strokes.
See your local CPGA Professional for more swing tips.
Cameron Rankin is a member of the CPGA and British PGA, and the head pro at Sand Hills Golf Resort (http://www.sandhillsgolf.ca) in Port Franks.

Cougar spotted in Port Franks?

From the OPP website:
On the 5th of May 2008, a 69 year Port Franks resident reported a possible cougar sighting on Patrick St. in the village of Port Franks. According to the witness, at approximately 7:45 p.m. he was working on a trailer in his driveway. At that time, he heard some rustling in some bushes located about 20′ away. When he went to investigate, he witnessed a large cat walk out of the bushes and across the laneway into another bush area. He then lost sight of the animal.
The cat was described as two-tone brown, light brown colour on top and a darker brown on the belly. The cat stood approximately 14-18″ tall and was about 3′ in length. The animal’s head was described as being large with longer fur. The man indicated that he was sure it was a cat but had never seen one that large before.
The animal was not aggressive and briefly looked at the man before walking away.
OPP have contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources regarding the sighting.

May 6 - SHDHS presents Our Town; Port Franks meeting tonight

May 6 - 7 p.m. - Thedford arena - Lambton Shores is holding a revitalization meeting for Thedford, Arkona and Port Franks. Citizens are encouraged to attend this important meeting. For more details, visit the Lambton Shores website.
7:30 p.m. - SHDHS in Exeter presents Our Town, the Thornton Wilder play. Tickets are $7. For more information, visit the SHDHS website.

Adam van Koeverden heading to Olympics

A man with a Port Franks connection is heading to the Olympics. Adam van Koeverden, whose aunt Theresa lives in the Port, won the K-1 1000 men’s kayak race at the Canadian team selection trials Saturday.
Read the CBC story

May 3-4 - Grand Bend Studio Tour

The Grand Bend Studio Tour runs this weekend, featuring 25 artists at venues around town. For more details, visit the Grand Bend Studio Tour website. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 3 and from 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday May 4.

May 6-8: Draft community improvement plans

Residents of Lambton Shores are invited to review the DRAFT Community Improvement Plans for Arkona, Forest, Grand Bend, Thedford and Pt. Franks and provide feedback and input.
Meetings will be held at 7 p.m. each night:
May 6 - Thomas Hall, Thedford (Thedford, Arkona & Pt. Franks plans)
May 7 - The Shores Recreation Centre (Forest plan)
May 8 - Grand Bend Legion (Grand Bend plan)

April 22: Help clean up Lambton Shores

The second annual Lambton Shores Trash Bash event is Tuesday, April 22 from 10 to 11 a.m. Volunteers are needed to help clean up trash, and anyone interested should meet at one of the following five locations throughout the municipality at 10 a.m.: Arkona Library, Grand Bend Legion, Forest Library, Port Franks Community Centre, and Thedford Village Complex. Bring your own gloves and wear bright colours. The municipality will supply garbage and recycling bags. For more information, contact Grace Dekker (dekfam@execulink.com), Catherine Minielly (minieljc@xcelco.on.ca), or Ruth Illman (illmanru@xcelco.on.ca).

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