St. Andrews Town Council Discusses Katy's Cove Inc's Request for Help with Building Washroom Facilities

After a six month hiatus from in-person council meetings, the Town of Saint Andrews resumed holding council meetings in the Charlotte County Court House on Monday, March 21, 2022. This particular council meeting also marked the first month regular council meetings have been split into two separate sections, the first taking place the first Monday of the month and the second session taking place on the third Monday, this time being the 21th of March. 

One of the main items of discussion on Monday night was a request from local non-profit group Katy's Cove Incorporated. Katy’s Cove Inc. is made up of a group of local volunteers dedicated to reviving the historic swimming cove in St. Andrews. The group is planning to put washroom facilities in at Katy’s Cove this spring/summer. A large part of the cost in installing washrooms at Katy’s Cove will need to go towards bringing in water and sewer services to the Katy’s Cove site, which is estimated by CBCL Engineering to be about $125,000. The washrooms at Katy’s Cove would be adjacent to the Van Horne Trail thus maximizing their use for both users of Katy’s Cove and Van Horne Trail users.

Given that the washrooms will service the Van Horne Trail users and the Town is looking to expand the Van Horne trail into Katy’s Cove this year using grant funds, Katy's Cove Inc has asked the town that for the provision of water and sewer services to Katy’s Cove for washrooms that they believe would provide a lasting benefit to the community. Katy’s Cove Incorporated has fundraised about $80,000 that they have in reserve. They are asking that the town provide the water and sewer services to Katy’s Cove as part of the trail extension using funds received from the federal government to improve the trail system, then the goal of having permanent washroom facilities at Katy’s Cove can become a reality.

While council agreed that the work of Katy's Cove Inc is important and beneficial to the town, they agreed spending money on the cove while it is still the property of the Algonquin Hotel (despite Katy's Cove Inc having a longterm lease of the cove) would not suit them in the long run. They agreed to establish better communications with Katy's Inc and the Algonquin Hotel to perhaps work towards a purchase agreement that could better suit joint efforts of the community to improve the cove.