Update: Marina will provide fuel this summer
Administrator | Apr 17, 2014 | Comments 118
UPDATE April 17 – The fuel pumps at Picton marina will remain operational this summer as mandatory replacement of the fuel tanks has been rescheduled for the fall.
Following further discussions with the County, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) has agreed to permit the Picton marina to continue dispensing fuel until Oct. 15, 2014 to minimize impact on boaters, tourists, and the local economy.
Once a construction schedule is finalized, the County will issue public announcements to communicate any service disruptions that may occur as a result of this project.
No gas at marina while County replaces tanks
APRIL 11 – Boaters will not be able to gas up at Picton Marina between July 4 and Aug. 15 this summer as the County must replace tanks and the piping system.
Council will tender to replace the underground gas tanks and supply lines with the required double walled systems that meet Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) guidelines. The County will also devise a communication plan to alert boaters.
In 2010, the County was notified it was required to comply with the Ontario Liquid Fuels Handling Code and had three years to meet the code. In 2013, the County received an order to comply by the TSSA and that all fuel dispensing was to cease until the fuel system was upgraded.
A capital project was proposed and approved for the 2014 budget. The new tanks are estimated to last at least 40 years. They have 30-years warranties against leaks as result of structural failure; natural external corrosion and internal corrosion. Construction time is estimated at six weeks or less.
At budget time council learned that in 2013 there were approximately 80,000 litres of fuel sold. With a surcharge of 10 cents per litre the payback on the cost of the replacement works would take 17.5 years.
Filed Under: Local News
Bravo, Jack Smith! We may not be able to bring back the good old days but we can pay them forward by ensuring that the county never forgets or loses the spirit that made it unique. Today we have all of these Community Care services – which are wonderful for seniors – but years ago we did not need half as many of them. The breadman and the milkman came to the door and there was free delivery in town from all the local grocery stores. Doctors made house calls and neighbours always looked in on the sick. Seniors who had difficulty in getting around could get a lot of things brought right to their doorstep for free. If you couldn’t drive and needed something downtown, Ab Hare’s taxi cost a quarter for a town call. In the summer for just two dollars you could taxi all the way from Picton to Outlet Beach.
We are not doddering old fools for remembering and trying to hold on to a wonderful time in our lives. If progress means a lot of technological advances and a big change in the character of our county then yes we have moved forward to a new era. Is it a better time? In many respects, no. But as long as we remember it will never be lost.
Wolf Braun you must of had a awful sad childhood. No fond memories. I just like it when people have stories about the County from years back. I have lived in the County for 55 years, my parents have and their parents. If I could go back to when I was a child I would do it in a minute and most people would do the same. We had the bread man come to our door along with the milk man and at one time there was a meat man also. None of these fancy stores were around. Most people from West Lake area and around bought their fresh meats from Demille’s Meats And groceries were bought from Moore’s that was next door. Later on a Variety store was built in West Lake known as the Tambo run by Ted & Verna Stewart, it is still running today by different owners. The Good Old Days. We can’t bring them back, but we can cherish them and remember the memories. Ladies and men keep writing the memories for I’m one that loves to hear about them. And for the comment that Wolf had about pissing up the wall, well most women could out piss you because the Women Of The County Are Strong!!!
Some of the car dealerships sold gas including Sharpe Motors, Grindrod Motors and Homer Shields. In the good old days they checked your oil and washed your windshield when you filled up.
Yes 5 gas stations in or on the edge of Picton. Gas stations can hardly stay alive as they are totally price controlled and get about 1 cent a litre!
I always liked Warrens Esso which sat on Main St where the Giant Tiger lot is now across from Master Feeds which is now a condo! Failing that I would go to the West End Fina which is now Stormy’s car lot on the north side. Of course when leaving the Rickarton you would just slide across the street to Ross Pearsoll’s. He carried a roll of bills that would stuff a horse! Of course he was safe back then and didn’t need 50 OPP officers to look after him.
Oops. forgot the one at Mac’s Milk on the corner of Main and King. Things are looking up.
There is a full service station in Fawcettville plus one on Picton’s Main Street in addition to the one at No Frills and the one at Rossmore IM Messenger. But we could still use more.
“lots of gas stations”
Where the heck are all these gas stations NOW?
Only 2 in the whole county, one in Picton and one in Rossmore! How ridiculous? Oo and the marina – 2 1/2.
What about that store: loaf bread, buns and gasoline. Albeit, tourists come into the county with tanks full, can’t blame ’em. Dollars leaving the county!
How about an incentive offered to get more gas stations in the county? That’s another reason ppl are crowding Picton.
I’ve heard of that film Dayton but was never lucky enough to see it. I recall when there were four or five new car dealerships in Picton – Roblin Motors, Sharpe Motors, Homer Shields American Motors, McKee Motors and Grindrod Motors all of them along Picton’s Main Street. There were lots of gas stations too. George Miller had a Shell White Rose service station where the beer store is today and McKee Motors was located where the LCBO is now. There was also a service station in the building where Aspen Dog Grooming is today.
Hey Marnie,,I wondered if you have seen the 8mm film of Picton main street probably in the 50s taken by the late Carson Scott? It’s a hoot! As he would walk or drive the Main street the staff of each business would walk out waving and laughing to have their faces in the film. I haven’t seen it in a long time but do recall the video of the machinery dealerships tractors etc and also the car dealers lots on the main street. I think there was also some “Miss Supertest” footage but not positive.It’s about a 20 -30 minute video and now is on VHS tape.
For those that might remember Stacys and Coles meat shop…the latter usually hung a moose or a bear from the outside sign in the fall of the year! Try and do that today!!
Mark – I clearly remember Grubin’s and Druncan Despair’s jewellery store adjacent to it. Perhaps that trailer outside the Bank of Commerce was green? I also recall Stafford’s and Gentile’s grocery stores with their old wooden floors and Carter Brothers hardware with its drinking fountain near the office. Remember the glass partition that screened the top half of the office counter and Miss Daisy Noble the bookkeeper? Mention of George Andrews’ paint and paper shop also brings back fond memories. He always wore a tan smock and seated his customers in front of a long row of wall-hung paper samples in metal frames. He would then turn each frame for the customer’s inspection. Housewives were allowed to take several rolls of wallpaper home on approval. Those were the days!
P.S. I’m glad to know that you contributed a few coins in recognition of the Sally Ann’s efforts to redeem you for patronizing the Royal in its vibrant days.
I do remember the Sally Ann standing out front of the Royal to save me. They have done well thus far hahaha! And before I am asked I can remember donating to save my soul. Marnie, I can be wrong but I recall the trailer in front of the former Bank of Commerce as being green! And the smell of the burgers I believe I can still sniff in the spring air. The older gentleman that ran that, his name I do not know. How about Grubin’s, and the paint store beside the pool hall, Stafford’s grocery about where McDougall’s are now. Stark’s meat market just beside the old Post Office. And to close for tonight they put the new Post Office on the wrong side of the street for us, we’ll just say middle aged folks!
Mark – Do you remember when uniformed soldiers of the Sally Ann used to stand outside the vibrant Royal Hotel on Saturday nights to save the sinners? Sometimes one of them would play the tambourine and they would sing.
Nothing better than a pizza from the Riviera or an ice cream cone from the Bowl-O-Drome. And how about the French fries sold from that little silver trailer parked in front of the old Bank of Commerce, across from the Regent?
IM Messenger – I just might write my memoirs one day. I believe we all should leave our recollections behind for future generations.
marnie,
Write your memoirs? As did Steve Campbell in his hilarious book about the county. You are but one of the few, who can tell their story using the senses . Do it. As a start save these threads, lol.
Yessss, a throw away society. Some will remember Stedman’s. That was a mark of history as it was in many a small town. Something big was about to invade. Zellers, Walmart?
You can’t stop change of course but new is not always better. Marnie is right in what we were able to experience in comparison to now. So much better. Two Chinese restaurants the Guild run by Alan Lee and the Star Cafe run by George…. The Riviera restaurant which made a pizza like none other! Can’t get a pizza anywhere’s like that today. Eatons then Beamish. Shannon’s and Baileys pool rooms. A vibrant Royal Hotel and a less than vibrant Globe Hotel. And so many of us experienced the Rickarton Castle and the dance hall down back. I could go on and on but that is enough for now so not to bore folks. They were great times!
We were the lucky ones Doris. We lived during a special time in the county. I still miss walking past Billy Henley’s shoe repair shop with its wonderful smell of leather and all of those shiny new bicycles that always stood outside. I also miss walking downtown in the early morning when many of the merchants were hosing down their sidewalks and preparing for the day. Today nobody repairs shoes, they just buy a new pair and water is no longer wasted on washing down the walks. I wonder what today’s young people will remember of Picton’s Main Street?
I love Marnies description of the County in the past. She is so right on. It seems ever since the amalgamation of council things have gone down hill. I am in favour of the wineries, they do not destroy our countryside the way that IWT’s would.
” For all that time you spent writing a diatribe you could’ve walked the dog 5 km. and back again, instead. It’s beginning to look like a pissing contest: how far up the wall can ya piss, before it comes back down and hits ya in the face.” – IM
LOL….Do you hold a wall record that you’re protecting? 🙂
Marnie:
Your comments are very descriptive of what the county was like then as compared to now. Historic view points are always interesting, imo.
Opinions or not it’s all information that depicts the the lifestyle that was or is here in the county. One’s truth IS evidence. Is this a venue with 30 questions in a 3rd degree manner?
Wolfbraun,
You are taking it far to personal. For all that time you spent writing a diatribe you could’ve walked the dog 5 km. and back again, instead.
It’s beginning to look like a pissing contest: how far up the wall can ya piss, before it comes back down and hits ya in the face.
Peace, Wolf. We both love the county but see it differently.
Marnie… let’s make peace !
I remember all of those things you’ve described. Guess what? You could put up almost any other community name and give each the same nostalgic description you’ve stated. This is not unique to Prince Edward County.
Wolf
Jack “You may never be heard from again”
lol
How seriously . . . true.
Wolf, I have never stated that I oppose tourism, period. What concerns me is the degree of it here today. Our county is not structured to accommodate the influx of all this traffic and it is changing the character of our community. You run on about tourism as if it were a new invention that has just come to the rescue of the county. If you have lived here ‘on and off’ for 45 years you must remember Hugh Frizzell’s tourist operation at Lake On The Mountain, Merland Park on Glenora Road and Bill and Ken’s at Indian Point. We celebrated Loyalist Days with a 10-day festival that featured street parades and merchants and their staff dressed in costume. There were regattas and all sorts of activity at the Yacht Club and even Guy Lombardo raced his boats here. There were also the Harmsworth Trophy Races – a big tourist attraction.
If you enjoy drinking wine and paying a little more for it to support the local wineries, then good for you. You may be surprised to know that there are lots of county folks who do not regard it as the beverage of choice and do not have surplus cash to pay more for something just to support the wineries. I am one of those people. In case you have failed to notice it is not poor people who have opened these wineries. Most of them have a lot more money than the average county Joe working for minimum wage. A lot of those wineries are hobby ventures.
I am not impressed by your so-called scientific facts. They are just the gospel according to Wolf.The county was a better place a few years ago and if you insist on knowing why, here goes. We had real community spirit in those days. There were street parades, street dances and sidewalk sales in the summer and lots of special events affordable for the average person. The county fair was a big thing in those days. Entertainers such as Doc Williams, Tommy Hunter and the Carleton Show Band headlined it. Tickets were cheap and the whole family could go to the fair more than once without breaking the bank. Our churches were thriving then, but today only a few of them have congregations of any size. One of them was torn down and another just gave up and became a theatre.
Picton had two department stores, two dry cleaners, three jewellers, at one time, furniture stores (plural), stores that sold appliances and three or four drug stores, two of them with soda fountains. We also had our own police force and it cost peanuts in comparison with what we pay today. When the second show ended at the Regent there was a town policeman standing at the cross-walk to see us safely across the street and in most cases he knew our names.
Today most of this hometown feeling is gone, We have wine and cheese and pricey shows at the Regent that the average local would find it difficult to afford.
And by the way, we also had a real hospital, I was born in it.
All of the above is just my opinion and I make no apologies for it because it happens to contradict your scientific facts.
And Jack,please rest assured that Duelling Banjos is not the county theme song. Since you consider some of us rednecks you must understand where the Drake people are coming from.
“Im curious as to how many responding to this article will actually use the new $40k gas tanks at the Marina ? Hell how many now where it is ?” – Paul
Yup! Probably at least once in the summer. It’s behind what used to be the Tip of the Bay. Is there a prize ? 🙂
>>>Although this observation flies in the face of your vision for the county Wolf it was a better place a few years ago.
Is there a formal study that you possess to support your claim?
>>>It had a completely different feeling and that’s a fact.
Every community in Canada has a different “feeling” now versus a decade ago. The questis is this a better feeling? Again, if you believe it to be not as good, where’s your proof? Your opinion is fine. Again, so is the opinion of others. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.
>>>While you make much of the fact that my comments are just my opinion and it’s wrong you have no reluctance at all to shove your version of the truth down others’ throats.
Isn’t that what you are doing all the time on here? Promoting your opinion? At least I have given you some facts, even if some of it anecdotal. Scientifically, anecdotal evidence is considered valuable.
>>>I and those like me who grew up here are not living in an alternate reality because we do not agree with you or all that is happening in our county. Who are you to make this judgement?
Until you supply hard evidence you, and some others, come across as being against progress. I’m 67 now and I have no problem with progress. Mostly, because I can’t do much about it. But, I don’t find much value in just opposing progress.
>>>To answer your question, we are the ones who keep the county open in the winter. We have invested our lives in this community and we support its stores and business places 12 months a year.
Who is “we” ? Does that exclude those of us who have lived here on and off for more than 45 years? I like to shop locally. I only use local contractors, suppliers. The only time I buy outside of the County is when it’s not available here.
Even though County wines cost more than off-shore wines, I still buy local. That’s because I want them to succeed so that they can continue to create jobs for local people. Can you say the same?
>>>We serve on local committees and volunteer with local organizations. We do not just stop by in the summer to buy a few bottles of wine, a ceramic pot and a chunk of cheese.
Again who is “we”? Again, does this exclude those of us who have been here 4 decades or more and volunteer regularly?
>>>Good luck with the Drake Hotel folks. I gather that they perceive a different reality from yours in play here. They see an opportunity to bring something new to the county. Your idea of how the universe should unfold here apparently differs from theirs. Imagine that. Could it be that you are living in an alternate reality?
I can’t stop progress and the Drake from opening in the County. What I can tell the folks at the Drake is that I’m offended by their attitude that they will be “bringing a little culture to the County”. Don’t you find that a bit offensive? Don’t we already have a unique culture in the County? Asking questions like this is reality.
When the Drake first purchased the Devonshire 3years ago, their PR people put out press releases to the media. The most offensive headline was printed in the Ottawa Citizen. It read “Drake brings culture to Country bumpkins”. I found that very offensive. Did the Drake publish an apology? I don’t think so. Wouldn’t you be offended by such headlines? I can’t imagine any community not being offended. Yet, you seem to attack almost every word that anyone writes that doesn’t agree with you.
Drivel is not the right word for what I am reading. “Deliverance” comes to mind. Visitor,s and newcomers be warned. If you get lost ,be very careful as to which door you are knocking . You may never be heard from again .
Im curious as to how many responding to this article will actually use the new $40k gas tanks at the Marina ? Hell how many now where it is ?
Excellent response Marnie,”To answer your question, we are the ones who keep the county open in the winter. We have invested our lives in this community and we support its stores and business places 12 months a year. We serve on local committees and volunteer with local organizations.” There has to be a happy median The County aims to please tourist and the majority of County Resident foot the bill and suffer the consequences..
Although this observation flies in the face of your vision for the county Wolf it was a better place a few years ago. It had a completely different feeling and that’s a fact. While you make much of the fact that my comments are just my opinion and it’s wrong you have no reluctance at all to shove your version of the truth down others’ throats. I and those like me who grew up here are not living in an alternate reality because we do not agree with you or all that is happening in our county. Who are you to make this judgement? To answer your question, we are the ones who keep the county open in the winter. We have invested our lives in this community and we support its stores and business places 12 months a year. We serve on local committees and volunteer with local organizations. We do not just stop by in the summer to buy a few bottles of wine, a ceramic pot and a chunk of cheese.
Good luck with the Drake Hotel folks. I gather that they perceive a different reality from yours in play here. They see an opportunity to bring something new to the county. Your idea of how the universe should unfold here apparently differs from theirs. Imagine that. Could it be that you are living in an alternate reality?
>>>Why without tourism our county and all of its current businesses would disappear right off the map.
I did not say that. That is from your own mind.
>>>You paint a rosy picture but it is not all pluses.
It’s reality Marnie. And reality isn’t always what you want it to be.
>>>Who keeps the county open when the summer visitors go home?
Who keeps The County open the other ten months? I haven’t a clue. Do you keep it open? How? You do realize that tourists are now coming to the County almost 12 months of the year.
>>>We are much more than a playground for vacationers.
Of course. What’s your point Marnie?
>>>I am delighted to learn that we are such a progressive county and that our young people are so beholden to progressive thinkers like you who are so eager to change its character.
Do you always put your own spin on things? When did I say that I’m eager to change the character of the County. I have a lot of faith that County people will continue to maintain County culture. The folks who are renovating the Devonshire into the Drake Devonshire are really p***ing all of us off with the advertising line telling us that they “are bringing a little culture to the County”… what a crock. As if we need their Queen Street culture. But please don’t assume something about me without knowing me first or at minimum ask for clarification of what I write.
>>>Like it or not there are those of us who do not applaud the direction things are taking and that does not mean we are ill-informed cynics just looking for something to “bitch at” as you so eloquently put it.
I have no problem with your opinion. It’s yours. Others, including myself should have that same right here. Yes? No?
If I provide you with evidence of what I see happening here in the County that does not mean that you are ill-informed… unless that’s how you feel. If so, that’s good to know so that in future, rather than using facts I’ll simply drift off into alternate reality.
>>>Nice that you and Gary M. know what’s best for all of us in the county and are experts in sniffing out bitching and drivel. Is there a course in that??
No course that I’m aware of Marnie. But, I do recognize the difference between reality and alternate reality. All you need to do is show us some facts as to why your version of The County is a better one.
G.Mooney
your flippant post lacks the substance of a opinion on any issue except per se: evaluating a comment posted. Also it lacks insight into the serious nature of the issues addressed, merely parrots another.
One is left begging the question . . .
Thank you Wolf for enlightening me. Why without tourism our county and all of its current businesses would disappear right off the map. You paint a rosy picture but it is not all pluses. Who keeps the county open when the summer visitors go home? We are much more than a playground for vacationers. I am delighted to learn that we are such a progressive county and that our young people are so beholden to progressive thinkers like you who are so eager to change its character. Like it or not there are those of us who do not applaud the direction things are taking and that does not mean we are ill-informed cynics just looking for something to “bitch at” as you so eloquently put it. Nice that you and Gary M. know what’s best for all of us in the county and are experts in sniffing out bitching and drivel. Is there a course in that??
Nice that you feel completely comfortable in determining a fine post from those that are drivel! Arrogant and self righteous. Who made you the authority on what is right and what is not.
A fine post by Susan (Saturday, 5:08 pm) which nicely offsets some drivel posted earlier and later.
Heres the problem in 17.5 years more then likely Canadian Tire,No Frills, Sobeys, Metro and the like will still be here contributing to the tax base. One tough tourist season as I suspect this year will be, rising fuel costs and such hydro a lot of these little tourist attractions will just fold up shop. WHO’S left holding the bag folks ???
“Undoubtedly tourism benefits those in the food service industry and other commercial ventures to some degree but does little for the average county resident.” – Marnie
Only to some degree?
Tourism benefits pretty much ‘all’ businesses in The County…
– restaurants of all kinds
– artisans of all kinds (potters, painters, glass blowers, etc)
– cheese factories
– all retailers
– roadside farm markets
– produce growers (Vickie’s veggies to name just one)
– Vickie’s Aunt Pat Jams prospered until she retired
– both cheese factories
– wineries and all their suppliers (yes, many suppliers are local)
– wine tour industry
– gas stations
– Food trucks
– golf courses
– para-sailing and other water sports groups
– B&B’s, hotels, motels
– boating (marinas, launching, storage, repairs, etc)
Marnie, I could quadruple the above list and then some.
All of it is progress. Something that no one can fight. Only bitch at.
As I interact with many of the above, it’s the young people that I come across who are the most beholden to what we have here in The County. It may not match their current career ambitions, but at least it puts some money in their pockets until something better comes along.
Only yesterday I was having a conversation with 4 young people. All college graduates. Average age 26. All four with jobs. Jobs that they are creating for themselves – entrepreneurs ! They see creating their own jobs, some of which they see as linked to the above list as being satisfying. Importantly, they see being an entrepreneur as a vocation that will allow them to be happy.
It IS a free country
It IS a free county
Tourism is to stay.
Many own property here and DO pay taxes, albeit though many don’t vote or don’t care to vote. Further, on the fringes of property owners are visitors, relatives, friends who come here. Perhaps a seasonal tax levied to create a user-friendly balance to the coffers.
Hey, it increases the gene pool for young people looking for relationships and a way out of the county. Aaannd for seniors looking for a companion and a way out of the county ooorrr a way into the county way of life. It’s all fruit loops, round and round — fruit of the womb.
Tourism is the least of our problems. imo. But, the diapers in roadside ditches, etc. THAT is the By-law Enforcement Officer’s duty – Andy Harrison 24-7. Where is this dude when ya need ’em to collect one of those $2,000 fines. When’s the last time one was levied and collected? That’s where the silver mine is. And the gold mine is . . . apparently tourism, wines and turbines.
Further, Harrison’s authority is only as good as the by-law has power, which may amount to an ant atop a huge hill of ant dung. Like the joke-of-a-noise by-law that has no power to shut up the circle crowd going far into the hot nights . . . with local folks windows open – winter is dead quiet. This is a problem, so much so that 4 houses have been listed for sale last fall, with no results yet. Agony for these ppl goes on. It’s like an enforced terrorism when they can’t get sleep.
As citizen’s we can affect more action. Is this an election issue or one now? Was does Harrison’s job entail that he’s not out there cleaning up the place and filling coffers. Change the by-laws yet again or just enforce them?
What are you prepared to do?
Variety is the spice of life Jack. How fortunate that we do not all think alike.
Them and us. Good luck with that!!
Our heads are not in the sand Jack. I see no reason why we have to join what you term the rest of the population if we do not agree with its thinking. It is clear in some of the comments made so far that there are those of us who do not regard tourism as our salvation. The rest is not necessarily the majority. Besides, how could we possibly put our heads in the sand? There is a tourist sitting on a towel on every square inch of Sandbanks Provincial Park’s beaches. Sand is not easy to find in the county these days.
Isolating one self will not work. The sooner people get their head out of the sand and join the rest of the population the better.
Undoubtedly tourism benefits those in the food service industry and other commercial ventures to some degree but does little for the average county resident. The biggest problem is too many tourists in a small community not structured to handle so many summer visitors. We have traffic jams, a serious shortage of parking and beaches swarming with vacationers – to the point that it is not enjoyable or comfortable to live in our own community in the summer months.
” I don’t think folks treat tourists badly it’s just a lot do not reap any benefit.” – Gary
So your comment begs the question… Exactly what direct benefits should folks living in The County receive from tourists?
To he’ll with the tourist road damage that the locals pay for, like Marnie said let’s run to the grocer and get some special foods that we have never experienced. You couldn’t pay me to live in Bloomfield.
Sam, given the threat of wind turbines and the massive cuts to our hospital the tourists just may flock to other places in future. Drat it, though, we won’t be getting any more of those gourmet treats that the supermarkets stock just for those vacationers.
Marnie, now is your opportunity to reduce the number of tourists visiting The County. Support wind turbines! If the turbine opponents are to be believed, then once Osterander Point has 9 turbines then the tourists will abandon the streets and beaches of Prince Edward County and bother you no more.
Share our county with them?? We give them the keys to it every summer. I was born here and I promise you that there are few if any back roads that they have not discovered. Those whose homes front on Bloomfield’s Main Street must cringe at the thought of an entire summer with tour buses and summer visitors’ vehicles lining their curbs. How nice that the supermarkets bring in special foods that the city people might like while ignoring the rest of us country bumpkins for the rest of the year. Apparently we hicks have very unsophisticated palates.
We’ve always had tourism but it used to be on a scale far better suited to the size of our community. What we have now is too much of a good thing and it is more to our detriment than to our advantage.
All well and good Susan. I don’t think folks treat tourists badly it’s just a lot do not reap any benefit. And it does take a huge toll on our roads. Did someone say “toll”.
Come on now, people, enough with the sour grapes. Tourists obviously bring money into the County. They stay in B&B’s or camp at Sandbanks or dock their boats in marinas; they eat at restaurants and shop in the grocery stores; they visit the wineries and buy wine; they buy in the shops in Bloomfield…especially Slickers.
County residents are smart enough to know when and how to drive into town, when to shop, and how to find quiet in the County during tourist season.
The condition of our roads is largely due to plowing in the winter and perhaps poor road-building. Gravel trucks, cement trucks, and so on aggravate the problem too.
I’m always happy when it’s tourist season because the grocery stores seem to get in special foods that city dwellers might like, and so we benefit too.
Let’s all treat our visitors with kindness and share our beautiful County with them.
The Town is almost unavigeable in tourist season. That does nothing for me but provide frustration. A business pays the same taxes to the County coffers whether they make $1,000,000 off tourists or $500,000 off locals. The County doesn’t get a dime out of it but they are responsible to maintain the roads (which they haven’t)and the only way to repair roads is to hit the local taxpayer. It’s a great racket if you are in the tourist business but a poor trade off for the average resident taxpayer.
Since you are so fond of the tourists Ken, maybe you would like their garbage thrown near your house along with the dirty diapers that sometimes accompany it. They don’t want to tote that stuff back to the city so some of them dump it along the road. I’m tired of picking up after them.
Did you ever notice that throngs of these people often enter local gift shops to browse but more often than not emerge empty handed? They are not always the big spenders that you might think. They do nothing to put any money in my pocket and I am not alone in this. Lots of us do not see a red cent because our town is a circus in the summer.
Oshkosh became famous for kiddies’ overalls. We are about to become renowned for underdrawers. How lucky can we get?