A one year lease or a five year lease was in question on the Port Elgin Beach Train Station, going forward.
Former Saugeen Shores deputy mayor and now realtor/businessman Doug Frieburger says giving a one-year lease to a businessman and expect that person to invest money is “ludicrous.”
Frieburger tried to convince council prior to its meeting, to give out another five year lease to Andy and Debbie Hess for the iconic tourist attraction.
He says that would allow them the security to upgrade the area.
The town staff information report states, “The building and property have aged in appearance and no longer meet current aesthetics appropriate for the towns most significant tourist attraction.”
Frieburger says the station and the train are known to everyone, pointing out the municipality has even used the train in promotional advertising.
In an information presentation, staff suggest they will be back asking council to approve a one-year lease only as they entertain requests for proposals from others who may be interested in the property.
The report goes on to say “Staff received an unsolicited proposal late in 2016 to repurpose the Station building and surrounding land uses.”
Something like that could potentially spell the end of the beach train operation.
CAO David Smith says the town should always be checking occasionally on its lease agreements throughout the municipality to make sure taxpayers are getting best value from public assets.
Council will be dealing with this issue at a future meeting.