GENEVA PARK GROUP FUNDRAISES FOR LEGAL BILLS

SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE RECENTLY DISMISSED LAWSUIT

Supporters of a failed bid to delay the YMCA's sale of Geneva Park are turning to the public to help cover the resulting legal bills.

Friends of Geneva Park and several supporters say they are on the hook for the expenses, including $25,000 in costs they say must be paid to lawyers working on behalf of the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka, after a Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the group.

"We had hoped (the Y) would want to start rebuilding their relationship with the community by forgiving the debt they have straddled us with," group chair Gail Atkinson said in a statement. "Instead, (the Y) has collected over $16 million from the unfettered sale of the property in which we are all so heavily invested, and is once again asking us for more."

The YMCA in 2021 announced plans to sell its leadership and conference centre on Lake Couchiching, citing financial pressures created by the pandemic.

Following a year-long process in which interested stakeholders were invited to submit proposals for the property, the YMCA announced it was selling the site to Clayton Smith, president of The Commercial Realty Group.

It said Smith was committed to the park's rejuvenation and restoration and had a history of breathing new life into destinations throughout the region.

Friends of Geneva Park had hoped to achieve assurances the park would retain at least some of its original charitable purpose once it was sold.

The group envisioned an arrangement in which a portion of the sale proceeds were returned to the buyer in exchange for provisions that ensure long-term protection of the park's environment and charitable programs.

YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka vice-president Karen Pulla said her organization was "surprised and disappointed" by the group's latest

press release.

"We believe that it is unfair for a charitable organization, responsible for serving 100,000 individuals

across the region and already under pressure from the significant negative impacts of a global pandemic, to be asked to shoulder the

financial burden of legal costs incurred as a result of defending a lawsuit on a case that was ultimately deemed to be without merit by the Superior Court," Pulla said.

She said the full amount of costs incurred by the YMCA were not accurately represented by the group.

"However, our YMCA, in an effort to bring this matter to a final conclusion, had already made a concession to the group and agreed to accept less than half of the costs incurred by the YMCA of Simcoe/ Muskoka in these proceedings, at $20,000, which all parties agreed to and the court has endorsed," she added.

Pulla said the $16.5 million in proceeds from the property's sale would support the Y's recovery and sustainability along with investments in charitable activities, including ensuring more children can experience day camps.

Friends of Geneva Park said that, were the YMCA to forgive the debt incurred through the legal action, all funds collected in excess of legal costs would be donated to a local charity that supports environmental preservation.

For more information on the fundraising effort, go to genevaparklegacyalliance.ca.