Megan Thompson on Marinagate

These past three years have been incredibly trying for our family. Entrepreneurship isn’t for the weak. It takes grit, sacrifice, and the willingness to keep pushing even when the odds are stacked against you. This summer, what should have been a season of running our business turned into a season of fighting for it.

Let’s clear something up. The Picton Marina, the municipal boat launch at 1 Head Street, and PEC Harbour & Marina at 35 Bridge Street (formerly Tip of the Bay Marina) are two completely separate businesses.

Yes, the County cancelled our lease at the boat launch. Were we disappointed? Absolutely. Last season was tough: lower boating tourism, staffing shortages, overgrown weeds choking the harbour waters, rising inflation driving up operating costs, and the same challenges every small business is facing. We weren’t perfect, but when issues came up, like delays with fuel and pump-outs, we personally stepped in and fixed them.

What stung most wasn’t the lease ending, it was how thankless the process was. Over four seasons we saved the County between $160,000 and $200,000. Instead of gratitude, we were met with extreme criticism for last year’s operations. One of the most challenging seasons we had ever faced.

We weren’t claiming perfection. What we were expecting, naively, was collaboration, support, and clarity, so that we could fix the issues and address the complaints.     

In hindsight, we should have just focused on our own marina operations. Forget the volunteerism. Maybe we let our naivety get in the way. Our intentions were simply to do something good for our community. Lesson learned.

And that is why we decided it wasn’t worth fighting the County when they moved to terminate our lease for the municipal Marina. We thought it would give us the chance to focus on our own operations and what we’ve built, without draining profits by covering a deficit-earning municipal property.

But the municipality’s intentions were far more disturbing.

If not for our motion-activated cameras, we would have been blissfully unaware that municipal staff entered the property 11 days before we were ordered to vacate. The footage shows them openly discussing how to claim our $1.25M docks as their own.

Think about that: public servants sneaking onto a family-run marina, ahead of time, plotting how to take what we built.

That’s not governance. That’s not accountability. That’s overreach. That’s theft.

And it should outrage every resident of Prince Edward County.

I am deeply grateful to the Picton Gazette for sticking to facts and truth from the start. They first approached us after one of our own customers raised concerns because the municipality claimed we were “illegally operating,” creating panic and confusion. 

Once we provided the mounds of evidence and documentation, the truth was clear.

Thank you, Picton Gazette, for giving us the chance to show the evidence. Journalism like this is what keeps power in check.

Megan Thompson, Prince Edward County

Where is the 10 percent on the Terminals?

So, let me get this straight.

Shire Hall is suing the Thompsons, who invested $1.25 million in sustainable, renewable infrastructure, a lifeline to the shops and restaurants on Main Street, not to mention tour operators, wineries, breweries and galleries.   

Meanwhile they hand the keys to the County to Picton Terminals (a total nuisance. A spill here a spill there….) who have extracted millions of tonnes of limestone, sold for tens of millions of dollars, without paying a single fee, royalty or levy. Why isn’t the County asking PT to pay 10 percent on their revenue?

Unbelievable!

Ken Stewart, Picton 

Picton Harbour Services Unreliable 

As a boater who keeps a boat in Picton Harbour, I was relieved when the County took over operations of the Marina this season.  The previous operators did not provide reliable services to boaters, particularly during the past two boating seasons.  Fuel and pumpout services were unavailable for extended periods of time, leaving boaters no alternative but to divert to Bath or Belleville (a three- to four- hour trip by boat).  

I can think of no other marina on Lake Ontario where the docks do not have electricity and water.  These are basic needs for people docking overnight.  Hopefully with new management the Marina will again be an attractive draw to visiting boaters, with spinoff benefits for many local businesses.

James Whyte, Wellington