Mayor of Quinte West, Jim Harrison, addresses a sun drenched crowd at the official opening of the Trent Port Marina Saturday afternoon. Sitting at the right of the picture are former Mayor John Williams, MP Neil Ellis, and Deputy Mayor Jim Alyea. (Photo: Quinte News).
Blue skies, summer temperatures, and a gentle breeze off the Bay of Quinte provided a perfect setting
Saturday afternoon for the official opening of the Trent Port Marina at the mouth of the Trent Severn Waterway in
Quinte West.
About 200 people enjoyed several speakers and 3 flypasts by a Hercules aircraft from CFB Trenton to mark the occasion.
One of the flypasts featured coloured streamers being dropped right next to the marina building.
The Mayor of Quinte West, Jim Harrison, was the Master of Ceremonies and said a lot of work had gone into the finishing of the 13 million dollar marina, but it had all been worth it. The Mayor said it was unfortunate that there wasn’t enough time to mention the hundreds of people who played an integral role in bringing the project to fruition.
Former Mayor John Williams said the process started in 2009 and staff and council of the day had to clear a lot of hurdles in dealings with the Ministry of Environment and Fisheries and Oceans before the marina could get off the ground.
Mayor Williams drew some laughs when he mentioned some “interesting public meetings” that featured some people adamantly opposed to the project.
The former Mayor thanked the owners of the land the marina building and parking lot sits on, Eben James Sr. and his son, Eben Jr., for leasing the land to the city.
The James family leased the land to the city at no cost.
Eben James Jr. said the land was owned by his grandfather originally, and was used to build barrels to hold the local apple crop back in the day. That operation was the springboard for the creation of longstanding industry, Trenton Cold Storage.
Jr. James said his grandfather would be bursting with pride were he alive to see the beautiful facility that now sits on the land.
Several speakers made special mention of Northumberland Quinte West MPP, Lou Rinaldi, who lobbied tirelessly 6 years ago to convince his government to provide 4 million dollars to support the project.
For his part, MPP Rinaldi said the Trent Port Marina was a jewel that will put the Quinte region on the map, and be a huge benefit to the local economy.
Bay of Quinte MP Neil Ellis congratulated the previous and current members of Quinte West council, and the city’s staff for never giving up on the project, saying the marina is a showcase facility, located perfectly at the mouth of the Trent Severn.
Longtime, and popular Quinte West councillor Fred Kuypers was boisterous in his remarks, saying he and city Facilities Manager Bob Forder had had several heated, closed door meetings with contractors during the marina’s construction phase, but everyone pushed hard to get the job done and done right.
Mr. Kuypers said he had high hopes that the facility might break even this season, but if not, it should be self supporting next year.
The Trent Port Marina has over 350 docks and a beautiful clubhouse which is being well used by the community in all seasons.
