To be or not to be, the Annapolis Royal Town Wharf!

 

On April 2, 2008, there will be a very important public meeting to discuss the future of the Annapolis Royal Town Wharf at 7:00 p.m. at the Annapolis Royal Fire Hall. Will it continue to be owned by the community or will it pass into others’ hands?

The Annapolis Royal Wharf Association has maintained the wharf for the last eight years, with money from a maintenance agreement with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. This maintenance agreement will end in the year 2010. The Wharf Association believes that the wharf will only realize its full economic potential with a seventy-five foot wharf extension and floating dock. Such facilities would allow boats to tie up to the wharf, something they cannot do right now since the wharf does not reach deep water.

And just imagine what the Town would be like with a wharf extension and floating dock. First, we would have small craft sailing up to the wharf. Their owners could enter the Town through what was formerly the Town’s “front door” to purchase supplies, tour the Town and eat in our restaurants. They could offer boating tours, picnics on Goat Island, and a shuttle service to Digby. Fishermen could take tourists out to fish and local historians could recount the history of the Basin. Then there are all of the recreational opportunities like canoeing, kayaking, and learning how to sail. A thousand Sea Cadets a year would be able to tie up their training vessels and liven up the Town with their presence.

The Wharf Association and the Annapolis Region Tourism Council believe that the wharf extension and floating dock project represents the single biggest economic development opportunity for this area. So please come out to voice your comments on the planned project and the future of your one and only community wharf.

From the members of the Annapolis Royal Wharf Association