The discovery of turtles nesting their eggs at the Shirvon Park playground made council delay any renewed development of the popular park used by kids in the subdivision.
In 2021, the park was to be restored to greenspace due to its proximity to the Blind River waterfront. However, council instead decided to look at returning the site near the river to a play area again after residents petitioned council to keep it as a playground and not turn it into greenspace.
Restoring it to a playground with new equipment was expected to start in 2022, but that work was put off until this year because of a cement shortage, said Director of Facilities and Community Services, Karen Bittner in a project update report at Monday evening's council meeting.
“Upon commencing the project in 2023, an abundance of turtle eggs have been found on the property, particularly around the footings of the old play equipment. As soon as workers noticed eggs and hatchlings, the machinery was stopped, and reported to her immediately. Snow fence was installed, and no activity has been permitted to continue for the time being,” she said.
The Ministry of Natural Resource and Forestry (MNRF) was quickly contacted about the discovery. One nest that was undisturbed, according to a resident who watched the female turtle lay and cover her eggs, was that of a painted turtle.
The MNRF urged the municipality not to take steps that could impact the turtles which may be endangered or threatened. The ministry advised Blind River could hire an environmental consultant to determine the species nesting on the site and whether the work could continue if the turtles were found to be endangered.
Bittner said the town has not budgeted to hire an environmental consultant to conduct a study estimated to cost $10,000, while it has budgeted enough funding for the new equipment already bought and labour.
She presented council with three options. The first would be to abandon the initial project. The equipment intended for the site would be used for future needs and the site returned to open space.
Option two would see council hire an environmental consultant to assess the site with funds approved from The Future Projects Reserve for the study. This option would see the site remain as-is until the consultation and reporting is completed, and following the review, the project continued or abandoned.
In option three, staff would postpone the project until the fall, and at that time remove the two remaining pieces of equipment. Existing holes be filled with site from the property, and the public informed through the same channels as listed in option one.
After considerable discussion, council opted to move ahead with the $10,000 study and agreed with Bittner that it will have to consider the playground restoration depending on options the consultant comes up with.