:: Kempenfelt Bay is Barrie's most valuable resource ::

Barrie appears at times to have forgotten its greatest asset is the bay on which it surrounds.

It's why Barrie exists at all and the magnet that draws thousands to its edge to recreate and celebrate each year. Our city officials must never take this for granted for one minute and it should be plainly reflected in each and every decision they make regarding her.

Homes on the bay’s edge trade for five to ten times the premium of their inland equivalents to owners willingly paying three to five times or more in taxes for the unique privilege. The esteemed opportunity to build a commercial project on the few remaining waterside properties in the City of Barrie is no less a unique privilege yet we devalue the opportunity by wholesaling and waiving development charges.

Forgive my ignorance if I say I don’t get it, but might I suggest that the beneficiaries of those millions in forfeited charges that then have to come from the pockets of existing taxpayers at least be required to offset their investment windfall over time through a newly created annual waterfront development surcharge?

Funds collected through such a surcharge could be earmarked for future waterfront projects like keeping our city marina on par with the growing demand these projects bring, creating additional transient boat slips to bring more boaters to our downtown shops and restaurants, building a world-class public pier that could be the pride of Barrie and further put us on the map, creating a skating path along the bay's edge between the Barrie dock and the South-Shore Centre similar to the canal rink that attracts thousands to Ottawa in the winter or just be used to save us the embarrassment of having to abandon our prided heritage symbols Like the Waterfront Steam Engine to museums in other townships rather than showcasing them ourselves as we should because we can’t justify the cost to do so.