ATHABASCA - Wandering River area campground owners want to set the record straight with Athabasca County council and establish consistent rules to help address some of the concerns recently expressed by residents, while at the same time allowing for their business ventures to flourish.
To that end, Kevin and Monique Mosich, the owners and operators of Highway 63 RV Park and Round Lake Campground, made a presentation to county councillors at their Sept. 24 meeting to speak to some of the concerns that have arisen in recent months regarding the potential development and expansion of some campgrounds in the area and the effect that will have on residents.
The Mosichs spoke on behalf of the Wandering River Area Campground Owner Committee which includes themselves, as well as the owners of the Backwoods RV Campground, Better Den Ome Campground, Hay Wood Campground and the River’s Bend RV Park.
The county held public hearing after public hearing this summer to address applications to amend its Land Use Bylaw to redistrict what was mostly agricultural land in the area to recreational commercial to allow for more camp sites.
All were rejected, although not unanimously, and it was eventually decided the issue would be discussed at an upcoming strategic planning meetings Oct. 29 to figure out ways to accommodate all parties as best as possible. The points brought about by the Mosichs’ presentation will also be added to the discussion at the strategic planning meeting.
The Mosichs appeared at the Sept. 24 meeting remotely from Wandering River, where Monique laid out the views of campground owners on the committee, with a PowerPoint presentation.
“As campground owners we obviously felt responsibility to work together to resolve some of the issues in the community,” she told council of the committee’s formation.
Their focus is to work together to establish best practices — consistent rules, enforcement and standards — she said, and to address valid campground-related concerns, with an emphasis on the word valid.
“And as business owners, we want to defend our developments. I think any business owner would. We’ve had darts thrown at us all summer long and we just feel that we should defend our business as anybody would,” Monique said.
She then laid out what the committee sees as legitimate concerns and those they see as frivolous.
Monique acknowledged there are issues with ATVs on the roads; that there is a potential for increased trespassing; and a lack of law enforcement presence. She also said hunting, poaching, dust, deteriorating roads, the risk of locals taking matters into their own hands and the fact that some campground owners don’t live in the community, or even the county, are also legitimate concerns for the county.
She did take issue with reports of increased crime and noise; exaggerated traffic numbers; inconsistent rules and lack of management; questionable sewage disposal techniques; accusations that campers bring no benefit to the community and that owners “line their pockets and give nothing back to the community.”
These, and several other bullet points were included in a column labeled fabricated, unsubstantiated, exaggerated, hearsay, misdirected and no supporting data.
The number of private and non-permitted camp sites has been an ongoing challenge over the years, said Monique, noting that campers and campgrounds are not always to blame for the concerns by community members, but rather a convenient place to place the blame.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also proven to be a challenge for campground owners, she said. Travel restrictions have led to more “stay-cations” in 2020 and the demand for camping stalls has skyrocketed.
“This has been the busiest year for our campgrounds; it’s a record-setting year for campground and RV sales, and they need somewhere to go; and campgrounds were permitted to open this year under AHS guidelines,” she said.
Monique finished up the presentation with some of the things the committee would like to see in the future. These include increased policing and bylaw enforcement, “strategic and thoughtful” consideration for future new developments, and a consistent notification process.
Mostly though, Monique said, the committee wants to see a plan for the community that includes input from owners.
