Waterpark plans for Ramsey Lake beached for the moment

Plans for a water park on Ramsey Lake in Sudbury have been beached for the moment due to contractual problems.

An official with Moonlight Water Sports said he dealt with a lot of red tape, but now the city won't give them a contract.

Kyle Walton said plans for the park have been coming together for the last five years. It's why he was shocked when the city pulled the plug.

"My initial reaction was to the news was disappointment for all the work we've done," Walton said.

"I just can't see why at this point they'd continue with the cancellation knowing that we had everything in place to open."

Walton said they hired 16 staff, registered with WSIB, had insurance in place and financing for all of the equipment, which the city, he said, knew by May 9.

But he said he was told he hadn't met his contractual obligations and he would not be getting permission to proceed.

"There was definitely a lot of red tape and decisions being made on the fly, is what it seemed like, they would just come out with new dates and things when the original RFP doesn't have any dates listed to have these accomplishments made," he said.

No one was available to speak with CTV News at the city, but we did receive a statement saying, in part:

"As part of any contract execution, there are important legal, financial and insurance requirements that ensure the protection of residents and of the municipality. Moonlight Watersports was unable to satisfy critical requirements for the operation of an inflatable waterpark at Bell Park."

Ramsey Lake is split between two wards, Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier was unreachable. Ward 11's Bill Leduc said he has full faith in staff's decision.

Leduc said rules are in place to protect not only entrepreneurs, but also the city and its taxpayers.

"Our staff worked with Moonlight Water Sports since November 2021, moving forward right up to the first week of May and at that point in time we just saw that he wasn't able to meet his obligations in the procurement process," he said.

Walton said he believes he's been slighted. He fears the city will turn around and given it to another company, without having to go through the RFP process and having to jump through the same hoops.

Moonlight has put up a post on its Facebook page and is in the process of refunding advance ticket sales.

While Walton is hopeful the city will change its mind, he's not holding his breath. He's also been approached about moving to other Northern communities.