Tammy Raycraft, Bruce Peninsula Press
Two Tobermory youth are asking the municipality to consider something other than a parking lot for the site of the former daycare after launching a petition to preserve the property as a place for people to gather.
Skylar Wipp and Emory Harpur, both longtime attendees of Tobermory Primary Place Childcare Centre, started a petition after discussing what they had heard about the future of the vacant property at 3 Centennial Drive.
Skylar, who has attended the daycare since about age one, said the idea came up after she and Emory talked about the possibility of the site becoming a parking lot.
“They want something that’s more like what it used to be,” said Skylar’s mother, Kayci Wipp.
Wipp said the property was once known as Centennial Park, where people could find green space, picnic tables and a place to gather away from the busy tourist areas of Tobermory. She said the girls believe the property could once again provide that kind of space for residents and visitors.
Skylar’s petition has about 27 signatures, while Emory’s has about 25.
Emory, who is nearly 11, has attended the daycare from about a year and a half old. She agrees that having a gathering space near the school would give residents and visitors somewhere to spend time.
“There’s nowhere close you can go walk to,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to be a parking lot.”
The girls’ concerns come as the municipality considers the future of the former daycare property.
The building at 3 Centennial Drive was formerly home to Tobermory Primary Place and previously served as the St. Edmunds Township office. Primary Place moved its childcare operation to St. Edmunds Public School in 2023, leaving the building vacant.
The property’s future has been discussed by council for several years.
In 2024, council authorized engineering studies related to a potential multi-use facility. That concept included possible space for The Meeting Place, a Welcome Centre, parking and a seasonal shuttle system.
However, more recent municipal tender documents identify demolition of the existing building and a future use involving public parking and visitor services.
For Wipp, the concern is not simply where tourists will park, but what the site could become for the community.
“I just think it wouldn’t feel quite as the daycare up here has always felt,” she said. “More like a home than a centre.” She believes adding tourist activity and parking around the area could change the character of the site and affect the sense of comfort the daycare provides.
“It kind of loses that comfort level, that it just becomes another piece of Tobermory as opposed to being, you know, comfortable and cozy and safe,” Wipp said.
The girls also believe retaining green space could benefit the area around the school and daycare.
Skylar said she hopes the petition will give residents an opportunity to have their voices heard before the property’s future is decided.
The petition campaign is still in its early stages, with the girls continuing to collect signatures and working toward an online petition.
