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A proposed public-private partnership to develop Petrie Island as a recreation site has fallen flat, with no companies offering to take on the project.
The City of Ottawa had three expressions of interest from private firms last summer when it served notice about the proposed project, which was to be a beach pavilion with change rooms, first-aid quarters, washrooms, meeting space and a restaurant. The total cost of the project was estimated to be $3.3 million, with the city kicking in $900,000 and the private partner the rest.
The private partner would get money from the restaurant, beach equipment rentals, tuck-shop sales, parking fees and a fee for managing the property.
But when it came to actually responding to the request for proposals, none of the three private parties responded.
Orléans Councillor Bob Monette said the schedule for the project – having the pavilion open by this summer – may have made the companies wary of the project. As well, the private-public partnership to manage the Ray Friel Recreation Complex in Orléans has proven a costly misadventure for the city.
The building project had to take into account the need to protect wetlands next to the island. The island is an environmentally sensitive area, which restricts some of the possible uses of the property. As well, there’s only one road onto the island and it could at times be flooded, requiring closure of the beach.
A city report on the project, to be discussed Tuesday at committee, proposes the city go ahead with construction of a scaled back pavilion for the beach. The city would spend the $900,000 to construct a building with washrooms, first-aid space and change rooms for lifeguards. Construction would start soon and be complete by November.
Mr. Monette said that it would still be possible to bring in a private company down the road to expand the building at Petrie Island, with services such as a restaurant. The city has already spent $1 million putting in piped services onto Petrie Island and to improve the power supply.
Petrie Island, on the Ottawa River at Orléans, has become a popular beach with strong support from volunteers through the Friends of Petrie Island. In 2000, when the beach was first being promoted, attendance was estimated at about 35,000. Last year attendance reached about 232,000 over the season, plus 18,500 on Canada Day.
The beach used to have problems with bacteria counts for the water, resulting in beach closures. But last year there were only six days when the beach had to close for swimming, according to the Friends of Petrie Island.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008