The town dock will be undergoing some surface repairs until the last week of June.
Mike Kearns, Parry Sound’s Director of Public Works says there are some surface discontinuities and staff are trying to maintain the dock in the same condition as they do sidewalks.
“There are cracks and some areas perhaps where the concrete has been dislodged. Staff are using a specific product that’s designed to be able to patch those [cracks] and adhere to existing concrete. Staff are also in the process of removing the vegetation from some of the areas [because] some organics have settled into the cracks over time,” Kearns says.
Kearns says it does take more time to remove that material to ensure the concrete will adhere so the work could take up to a couple of weeks. He adds the dock will also be subject to regular inspections during that time, to ensure repairs stay in place and any new discontinuities are dealt with. He adds they will schedule the work ensuring no interfernce with cruise ships.
Chris McDonald, Executive Director of the Parry Sound and Area Chamber of Commerce (CoC) says one of the bollards also needs work to accommodate tying down larger cruise ships, in particular the German ship, the Hacienda Inspiration.
“Pearl Mist isn’t affected as much. It is a bit shorter so they can tie off further down the dock. But there is some repair that needs to be done on one of the tie downs and we’re hoping to have that addressed sooner than later. We certainly don’t want to have to force them to anchor out from the town beach or salt docks and tender people in,” he says.
McDonald says the Chamber wants to continue to offer an enjoyable port for Cruise passengers to come to.
“We have seen an increase over the past couple of years and we’re forecasting probably 40 [ship visits] next year coming in. We certainly want to keep the cruise lines happy. The passengers love coming here. It’s one of their favorite ports to come to simply because we have so much to offer and we cater to them,” McDonald says.
He says that speaks volumes for them wanting to return next season, adding there are eight different cruise ships coming in next year.
