Township mayor in Ontario declares in leaked email Port Perry Fairgrounds ‘must be sold’

Scugog Mayor Wilma Wotten is alleged to have said the quiet part out loud at a pop-up meeting about the future of the Port Perry Fairgrounds last week, telling one participant at the meeting the fairgrounds “must be sold.”

The information came via a leaked e-mail and Wotten clarified that statement this week, saying the township’s public ‘visioning exercise’ that is currently underway “may include the eventual sale of the park and the loss of this historic and irreplaceable landmark.”

“Your input is crucial and the township has dedicated a website to this matter where anyone can voice their opinion,” Wotten said. “Please visit and share your vision for the future of the Port Perry Fairgrounds.”

The fear in the community is that the township – the owners of the historic fairgrounds – has already made the decision to sell the property to developers, despite Scugog hiring a consultant to achieve a ‘vision’ for the site this fall.

Scugog Mayor Wilma Wotten

Mike Coll, who has been fighting to keep the fairgrounds in public hands since the township put off a decision to renew the lease to the Port Perry Agricultural Society in April (granting them a three-month extension instead) said people have had a variety of opinions about Wotten’s comment.

“My biggest takeaway was that the mayor is – allegedly – telling people the property ‘must be sold,’” he said. “The community is supposed to be making that decision.”

The township hired Toronto consulting firm Darwin Pivot and Ottawa engineering consultants J.L. Richards for the visioning exercise, with the consultants listening to residents, partners and local organizations to understand “what the fairgrounds mean to people” and the ideas and values that should guide its next chapter.

There were about 85 people at Wednesday’s pop-up at the Scugog Memorial Library – the first of three meetings last week – with most of Scugog Council in attendance.

According to the alleged leaked email, Wotten was telling people on Wednesday night that the fair board is “deeply divided” on the fairgrounds issue and that the fairgrounds must be sold and was, allegedly, “adamant” on that point.

There was also a debate on whether the fairgrounds were classified as parkland, which the mayor addressed in her statement this week.

The Port Perry Fairgrounds is designated as a Township Park and makes up a “significant portion” of Scugog’s total park space, Wotten clarified.

“The Port Perry Agricultural Society maintains the park using a portion of the annual fair proceeds. The township contributes no funds,” she added. “This unique arrangement has saved tax payers nearly $80,000 in maintenance and improvements over the last four years alone, while keeping the grounds safe, clean and available for everyone to enjoy year-round.”

Residents began to get concerned about the fairground’s future when the lease – the Port Perry Agricultural Society took over the lease on the property in 1910 – wasn’t automatically renewed in April, with Port Perry residents making their feelings clear about the local fairgrounds remaining in public hands in a combative Scugog Council meeting in September.

Scugog Council decided to go ahead with the ‘Visioning Exercise’ for the historic site at that meeting after local chatter about the fairgrounds being sold to developers rallied the community to save the site, home of the fair since 1886.

The township also assured the agricultural society and the community that the Port Perry Fair – held annually on the Labour Day weekend – can continue at the fairgrounds, at least through 2026.

The consultation is expected to wrap next June, the same time as the lease with the agricultural society expires.

“The mayor and some councillors appear to be even more dug in, and perhaps more ill-informed, than I thought,” Coll said. “We have to ensure that at least the public is fully informed.”

The Port Perry Fair has been one of Ontario’s most popular county fairs, offering a midway, agriculture competitions and displays, tractor pulls, rodeos, motocross shows, a demolition derby, live music, a beer tent and a variety of other events and activities to signal the end of summer in Durham Region.

Visit Your Voice, Your Fairgrounds project page to share ideas and learn more about the visioning exercise.