Hughes won’t be part of decisions on Burl’s Creek property

The mayor of Oro-Medonte won’t be involved in making decisions when it comes to the newly expanded Burl’s Creek Event Grounds.

Harry Hughes, whose grandson began working in the fall for the former owner of the Line 8 South park, declared a conflict of interest Jan. 14, saying because his grandson lives in his house, he could potentially have a financial stake in the outcomes.

“If there’s any vote that comes before council, I will have to remove myself from it or from making comments to the public,” Hughes said.

In September, Hughes’s grandson, a former golf-course groundskeeper, got a job at the seasonal Barrie Automotive Flea Market under Don Hanney, who then owned Burl’s Creek.

In November, Stan Dunford, chair and CEO of transportation giant Contrans Group Inc., purchased Burl’s Creek and hundreds of acres adjacent to it. Last week, Dunford added the Barrie Speedway property to his holdings.

“He doesn’t work under the new ownership,” Hughes said of his grandson. “He works for Don Hanney, who has sold the property but is still having events on the property. Of course, some of the things that come up for that property could have to do with being connected to the events that the former owner has.”

It was following a workshop in Oro-Medonte led by Rick O’Connor, the City of Ottawa’s clerk and solicitor, Jan. 8 on the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act that Hughes questioned his circumstances.

Hughes, a long-serving mayor, already knew under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, council members who could have a pecuniary interest in a decision being made or council members who have immediate family members who could have a pecuniary interest in a decision being made should not be involved in the process.

But he asked O’Connor whether the fact his grandson lives with him and will likely continue to work at the flea market come spring could be a problem.

“He indicated to me that that was a grey area, but looking at the spirit of the Conflict of Interest Act, that I should err on the side of caution,” Hughes said.

So, he is.

Before council began discussion a closed-session item Jan. 14 that was related Burl’s Creek, Hughes declared in open session he wouldn’t be part of it.

While he acknowledged the importance of the future plans for Burl’s Creek Event Grounds to the township, he said he’s confident the deputy mayor and councillors can handle it.

“You have to balance out that transparency and the fact that whenever a vote is taken, that there isn’t something biasing a vote. It’s a trade-off for democracy,” Hughes said.

Burl’s Creek property has doubled in size since it was purchased

By Roberta Bell Orillia Packet & Times 

Since Burl’s Creek was purchased by a new owner in the fall, it has doubled in size.

But, Wednesday, the vice-president of venue operations and business development for the company that bought the Oro-Medonte Township park said it’s not going to look much different. At least not yet.

“Currently, no additional infrastructure is going to be needed,”  said Ryan Howes, of Burl’s Creek Event Grounds Ltd.

Crews are on the property regrading it, he said, putting in some additional roadways and “enhancing some areas.”

That should all be completed by June, he said.

Stan Dunford, of transportation giant Contrans Group Inc., purchased the originally 350-acre park and two adjacent properties in November and established Burl’s Creek Event Grounds Ltd.

Last week, the company added the Barrie Speedway, which runs parallel to the original park off of Line 8 South, to its land holdings in that area, which now total 700 acres.

“The lands do line up nicely,” Howes said. “The speedway property runs parallel to the existing Burl’s Creek property off the 8th Line. The only barriers in between them is a chain-link fence.”

While the speedway is closing, the grandstands, track and some of the garages are staying there “for now,” Howes said.

“The actual track itself will not be in operation,” he said. “From what I’ve heard, NASCAR and other people have been talking to Sunset Speedway about moving some of the races that historically happened at Barrie Speedway down to Sunset.”

Burl’s Creek is now the biggest park of its kind in Canada.

“The festivals that are going to be taking place at Burl’s Creek are camping-based,” Howes said when asked why the park had become so expansive. “There’s a certain amount of space that’s needed to accommodate X amount of campers per festival.”

Republic Live, a festival-promotions company in which Dunford is a majority stakeholder, is producing two large multi-day events there this summer.

A three-day arts, music and culture festival similar to the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee is happening in July. In August, the country music festival Boots and Hearts will happen on the property.

While the park — which includes three barns retrofitted with facilities for campers, a general store, VIP areas and a farmers’ market — can handle 80,000 people and 45,000 campers, the intention is not only to open it up to large-scale events, but community ones as well, Howes said.

To develop the facility, Burl’s Creek Event Grounds will work with the township, he said.

The company is in discussions with the planning, building and bylaw departments to figure out what sorts of permits it could need, Howes said, as it has been doing since November.

“One of the issues with the previous Burl’s Creek was traffic congestion, so the opportunity to purchase the lands off of the 9th and the 7th lines will help,” Howes said.

He said with the original entrance on Line 8, there will be multiple ways in and out.

“It actually allows a proper traffic plan to be in place running off of Highway 11,” he said, noting no new roadways will be required.