A plan to relocate and revitalize Sandpoint Beach will go before Windsor city council Jan. 13, their first meeting of the new year.
The proposal involves shifting the swimming area away from hazardous waters after two men died this past May.
It’s believed they drowned after inadvertently stepping off the drop-off, which connects to a nearby shipping channel.
Higher fencing and additional signage was installed in June in an effort to deter swimming in unsafe areas.
The masterplan features new amenities, including an accessible playground, splash pad, improved beach facilities, and enhanced landscaping, and comes at an estimated cost of $15 million.
At figure that ward 7 councillor Angelo Marignani was not expecting.
"There's a lot of add-ons that don't need to be there, so maybe what we could do is a phased approach where we first and foremost improve the safety element of that beach, and that would be the actual movement of the beach from the western side to the eastern side and then create that walkway, that fenced in area on the western side."
He says the proposed amenities, like the playground and splashpads should instead be replaced with trees to save money.
"Nothing's better than standing on a hot summer day underneath a tree getting a cool great lake breeze hitting you, and a lot of people do enjoy that. People from every socio-economic strata enjoy that because it's something that they can do, it is absolutely one of the best parks in our city."
While the plan’s implementation is estimated to cost $15 million, only $1.5 million has been allocated in the city’s long-term capital plan for 2029 and 2030.
That means an additional $13.5 million would need to be secured if the project is to proceed.
Marignani is confident council will approve the plan, but is unsure when work would get underway.
"We do have some money to start some of that process, so yes, I'm confident that we will start now, to what degree we will go into completion, that's another story, but let's do the phased approach first and foremost, improving the safety so that never again does someone accidentally die at that location in our park."
The city said public feedback gathered through surveys and open houses in 2022 helped shape the plan, with residents showing strong support for the proposed safety upgrades and environmental enhancements.
-With files from CTV Windsor's Sanjay Maru