Dorval moves step closer to acquiring Pointe-picard for marina

The city of Dorval has moved a step closer to acquiring the Pointepicard sailing base on Lake St. Louis.

The city passed a motion at Monday's council meeting to satisfy a requirement by Quebec's Ministry of Environment.

“Last night we reconfirmed what we had already done,” said Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau. “We just told the ministry that we won't build anything there; we'll be using it as a marina.”

Rouleau said the resolution was just a formality in a long, bureaucratic process to obtain ownership of the former Canadian Forces Forces Sailing Association property at 320 Ducharme Ave.

The city has been trying to acquire the 9,700 square-metre property from the federal Department of National Defence for the past five years.

Rouleau said the city has agreed to purchase the waterfront property for $864,000 from the federal government, but there are many steps involving different levels of government before the city takes ownership.

“For that price, we guaranteed it will be kept as a green space,” Rouleau said.

He said the Quebec Ministry of Environment also has to sign off on the deal because part of the property lot extends into the lake.

Local MNA Enrico Ciccone is helping move the file along at the provincial level, the mayor added.

The city of Dorval plans to turn the former federal sailing base into a public marina.

“It will be like other marinas on Lake St. Louis, like in Baied'urfé,” Rouleau said. “It will be turned into a green space and marina for Dorval residents. And we don't want to forget the veterans who were there before. We'll work something out with them.”

Rouleau said a public marina will be popular in Dorval where many residents already have their own boats. “At Pine Beach there is a boat ramp and it's used all the time,” he said.

Rouleau recently addressed the issue of whether the city should attempt to purchase private properties next to Pointe-picard that are up for sale to expand the overall area of the waterfront green space.

“We can buy anything we want, but every time you buy a property it cost a million bucks, and for what? Right now Pointe-picard is big enough for Dorval residents for what we want to do.

“What people really want is (access) to water, not land.”

The mayor also noted that it would be unwise for the city to purchase adjacent properties until Dorval has become the legal owner of Pointe-picard.

“When Pointe-picard will be officially ours, then if there are properties that are still for sale, we'll look at it,” he said “But we'll pay a decent amount, not pay double what it's worth. Then the same people will accuse the city of paying too much.”

Rouleau said if all goes according to plan, the marina could be open to the public by the summer of 2022.