The Amherst Island Community Alliance (AICA) presented the 2023 census results at a public meeting Aug. 29.
The main issue noted by residents was the ferry. Other issues noted at the presentation included trailers and Airbnbs on the island, as well as a lack of an evacuation plan in case of a wildfire.
A fair amount of positive notes came from the presentation as well. The alliance measured local event attendance before, during, and after the pandemic. According to these results, the island has now returned to a state of normalcy. The island also scored a 4.4 out of 5 in terms of satisfaction with island life.
The ferry
The ferry was, by far, the number one issue for island residents. The current scheduling issues and lack of progress on the new ferry were listed as concerns, along with a long list of others. The AICA noted there are just over 270 vehicles on the island, and no way to get them all evacuated in case of a large fire. The island currently does not have an emergency evacuation plan.
AICA Board Member Kirk Corkery explained just how quickly a wildfire could ravage the island.
"Looking at the fires that are out there right now, you might only have 3 - 4 hours to evacuate everybody, because the fire would consume the entire island in 5 hours given the winds that are coming off the lake." said Corkery
The Canada census says there are 420 permanent residents on Amherst Island, but Corkery explained when the population jumps to over 1,200 with the influx of season residents, it has a large effect on the ferry service.
Other Issues
The census helped identify over 55 issues brought forward by residents. Other than the overwhelming responses regarding the ferry, the AICA also noted concerns surrounding trailers, shipping containers, and rental properties on the island.
Board Member Kirk Corkery explained that some residents were concerned about such owners who may only be paying taxes for the rate of a vacant lot.
"That's starting to bother people. Along with, sometimes, the behaviour of people who are visitors to the island through these Airbnbs, and other rentals." said Corkery.
General Notes
With over 200 responses split between 140 permanent residents, and around 60 seasonal residents, the AICA noted the similarity between the two groups responses.
"Absolutely no difference between whether you were a seasonal person or a permanent person. In fact, almost all no difference all the way through, with all the questions. Seasonals and permanents think of the island, and have attitudes that are almost identical. And that's consistent to what we saw last time as well." said Corkery.
The AICA also noted the amount of response they got from residents who volunteer. Close to 30% of residents are participating in some form of volunteering. Corkery noted this was a large percentage compared to other municipalities.
"The fact that we've got such a large number of the people here volunteering, that means it's a really engaged community." said Corkery.
He went onto note that they'll want to maintain this number in the future.
"One of the forward thinking things coming out of the survey is we're going to have to look at where we get our volunteers from, because there's a risk of burning out and over-commitment of people," said Corkery.
The AICA is currently compiling the results into a slideshow presentation. It will be posted to the Amherst Island website in early September.
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