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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The days of basking in the summer sun and boating may be months away, but users of Prelude Lake poured into a consultation meeting Sunday, hoping to provide the GNWT a sense of where they want things to go with the park.

North Slave tourism superintendent Tracy St. Denis engages with a focus group involved in the public meeting about Prelude Lake Sunday at the Tree of Peace. A diverse group of about 33 users showed up to air their grievances and some of their thoughts about the future direction of the park. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

A diverse group of about 35 users - from seasonal cabin owners to RV owners to tent campers - attended a two-and-a-half hour meeting Jan. 13 to express what they saw as ongoing problems and benefits with the park, as well as potential ways to make the park experience better.

One of the bigger items discussed is dealing with the amount of usage at the boat launch, said longtime Volks-wagen tent-trailer camper Hughie Graham.

"There needs to be some parking management come in place," he said. "If you go on a Friday evening and try to launch your boat, it is insane. With the amount of vehicles that are parked down there, there is just a lack of parking."

Other items raised included enforcement of park rules, the size of sites, waste management, ATV use and noise, dust control and the lack of picnic sites. RV camper Adam Bembridge said he wants to see the park try to find more revenue sources to cover capital costs, so that there isn't a fiscal shortfall for operations.

"It appears to me that in most cases a private business has to make money or break even for it to exist and that the park generates very little revenue, which means it is far too cheap to put your tent or RV in there and which is why people book up a Monday, Wednesday and Sunday for their tent," he said.

"I would go to a live auction for a site and bid to get a site and pay a lot of money. To me there is something wrong with the fiscal situation, which nobody talks about. Eventually governments will have to stop subsidizing our fun."

Campers pay $22.50 per night in NWT parks.

So far, the department is preparing to expand the marina parking lot for $150,000 in the GNWT's capital investment budget.

Tracy St. Denis, regional superintendent of the North Slave Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) put together the afternoon meeting, which featured facilitator and Memorial University geographer Alistair Bath.

The public meeting is part of a larger engagement process with the public and on the heels of a draft management plan and survey launched by ITI in December.

"What I heard (Sunday) was that even though people hadn't finished reviewing the draft plan, it let us know what we are proposing in the draft plan is going in the right direction," said St. Denis, adding the benefit of the meeting was just getting a first-hand account of issues at the park.

"I was really quite pleased to see 35 people out considering the temperature. Even though we are experiencing -30 or -40 weather, the parks planning is during the off season. Our work never stops."

St. Denis said the GNWT is trying to hear from as many people as possible up to the end of February and is aiming for traditional user groups like property owners, campers, people using the park to access cabins, as well as day users, like nature trail walkers and beach enthusiasts.

There seemed to be a lot of agreement coming out of the meeting that Sunday's group represented an ample selection of users.

"It sure seemed like a diverse group of people and it was good to see people out," said Graham. "You could tell that Prelude is held near and dear to a lot of people's hearts. "

Graham attended to keep up to speed with the GNWT's redevelopment plans, but he came away with an awareness of the many aspects users are interested in. St. Denis said ITI and NWT Parks are continuing to engage with the public through a website survey. A final management plan document is to be finished by mid-May, when the park season begins.

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