Kudos to Councillor Maurice Brenner
Thank you Maurice for letting residents know of our existence. I was organizing some old files and came across a document that states;
- Fairport Beach Ratepayers Association was formed in 1927 as a cottage community.
- In 1932 a wealthy banker deeded the waterfront acreage to the Association. It ran from Petticoat Creek on the east side to West Shore Blvd. on the west side, and from the lake to Park Cres.
- In 1949 it was Incorporated as a non-profit Association with a written constitution and duly elected executive with its own clubhouse located on the beach.
- In the 1960’s it was moved up the hill to sit at Park/Cliffview and was used for meetings and the Scouts.
- In the 1970’s street parties were held at the end of Park Cres. The clubhouse burned down when someone tried to light a lantern inside and fuel was ignited. The hall was partially rebuilt but ran out of money to finish it.
- In 1989 I was elected President after serving as V.P.
- In 1991 the membership decided to sell the property to the Metropolitan Toronto Regional Conservation Authority for $100,000; this allowed the bridge to be built across Petticoat Creek in 2002, and the waterfront trail to be extended eastward.
- In 1993, we amended the Constitution to change our name from Ratepayers to Fairport Beach Neighbourhood Association to better reflect our mandate, and entrench a clause that requires the Association to always maintain a balance to preserve the $ 100,000.
An addendum to the above:
- In 1932, a wealthy banker deeded all the waterfront property from Petticoat Creek to West Shore Blvd. to the Association. This led to the Incorporation of Fairport Beach Ratepayers Association in 1949. The cottages were defined by the boundaries from the Lake to just south of Vicki Dr., and from the backyard lot line on Hillcrest Rd. to the west side of West Shore Blvd. Within our community was the Newman homestead, circa 1840 which has been designated as a historic property by the City of Pickering. The family sold the remaining 11 acres in 2012 and 51 new homes have been added to our community.
- The Association had a clubhouse at the foot of Cliffview/Park Cres. that was used by the members for meetings and social events and used by the Scouts and other organizations. Street parties would be held at the foot of Park Cres. in the summer, and in the early 1970’s someone tried to light a lantern inside, and spilled fuel that caught fire and burned the building down. Insurance only paid out enough to build a concrete block basement with a flat roof. That’s how it stayed for many years, but the Association kept holding meetings and elections throughout. I served as Vice-President in the 1980s and was elected President in 1989.
- With guidance from the executive and members, a motion was passed to sell the property to the Metropolitan Toronto Regional Conservation Authority. Cec Turner and I were appointed to negotiate a price with Don Prince and Larry Field (MTRCA) management for land acquisition. An engineering firm was hired to do soil erosion tests and it was reported that all along the embankment is unstable soil, so nothing could be built there. Murry Stroud represented our Association, and in 1991 the land was sold for $100,000. The block basement was bulldozed. With the newfound wealth as the richest ratepayers group, we were being told by some on Pickering Council how we could spend it. This caused in-fighting on how we should invest the money and some members wanted to put it into the stock market. So, in 1993 at a quorum meeting, we passed two motions to amend our Constitution. The first was to maintain a balance of $100,000 in CDIC-protected investment instruments as long as the Association is in existence, and we have always been fortunate to have on our executive a chartered accountant or knowledgeable book-keeper to keep records, and Directors to review and examine the financial records once a year, and report back to the membership at the annual general meeting.
- The MTRCA changed its name to the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority (TRCA), and in 2002 a bridge was built across Petticoat Creek, and the waterfront trail was extended in subsequent stages over to Marksbury Rd. It couldn’t be extended the last block between Marksbury and West Shore Blvd. until the last two cottages were purchased by the TRCA. One cottage was demolished in 2022 and the other one will be taken down next year and the trail completed to the Rotary Frenchman’s Bay West Park.
- In the intervening years we have made many contributions to worthwhile causes and accomplished numerous community improvements always working closely with our Ward 1 Councillor, Maurice Brenner. We have created “welcome packages” for all the new families moving into Fairport Beach, and during Covid 19, we have supported the food banks in Pickering and Ajax with cash donations and food supplies, and our hospital with cash donations for PPE supplies. Our Association has made the Ajax-Pickering donors wall for donations of $1000 over the past 20 years. Our Association was recognized by the City as the ” International Year of the Volunteer” in 2001, and Mayor Ryan, Councillor Brenner, and Regional Councillor Ashe dedicated an inscribed rock to our Association on the waterfront trail, to recognize our contribution to extending the trail across the Fairport Beach waterfront.
Some of the milestones and achievements of the Fairport Beach Neighbourhood Association:
- Throughout the years we have donated $1000/year to the Ajax-Pickering Hospital;
- donations to our food banks in Pickering and Ajax;
- donations of $500 are offered to our 3 public schools every year;
- and many initiatives in our community such as a first initiative arranged by Maurice to pay half the cost of the speed board on Oklahoma Dr. through the City;
- A police bike for patrolling the waterfront trail;
- a bursary program to recognize students for community involvement;
- sponsorships for exchange students and athletics;
- financial grants to residents to help out in crisis situations;
- assistance in helping the Pickering Rotary Club with the start-up of the Rotary Frenchman’s Bay West Park;
- our Fairport Beach parkette where the clubhouse was situated;
- many other worthy causes come to mind, like the Indonesian Tsunami, where we donated $10,000 to the Red Cross Relief Fund chaired by Maurice and Bill McLean
- another $1000 to Herizon House Women’s Shelter;
- close to $20,000 put into our parkette with tree planting along Park Cres. and our beautiful butterfly garden.
None of the many things above would have been made possible without a dedicated executive and members from our community. It has been a pleasure to be part of such a vibrant group of citizens, and at the end of my term as President for 36 years I will look back with pride in all that we accomplished as volunteers together.
Paul White
President
Fairport Beach Ratepayers Association
A response from Brenner, Maurice, Councillor:
Now more than ever there is a need for Neighbourhoods/Communities to build /Ratepayer/Community groups.
While there are no defined parameters by the City, however, when an Association is formed it can be recognized by the City for the purpose of Communications of Planning matters and other outreach through a designated person. The defined community also has access to have flyers printed from the City for their own distribution.
To be considered an Association the group needs to have some form of constitution that confirms their goals and purpose along with their geographic area. There should also be an annual meeting from which an executive is elected.
Currently, there are 3 actual Associations in Ward 1: Fairport Beach, Pickering Westshore and RougeValley Community and Recreation.
If you are interested in forming an Association in South Rosebank you should connect with Paul White from Fairport whose Association is one of the oldest. Peggy Bowie recently organized the Rouge Valley group.
Maurice Brenner
Deputy Mayor, Regional Councillor
Ward 1
Web: mauricebrenner.ca
