A new rec centre, work on parks and major road work are some of the big projects the Town of Saugeen Shores took on in 2025.
The Town’s annual report to council highlights some major initiatives and projects over the past year.
The roughly $50 million Pryde Aquatic and Wellness Centre project in Port Elgin was completed and it opened in early 2026. It has a brand new pool, so the Town is also putting the finishing touches on the sale of the Centennial Pool in the local high school to the Bluewater District School Board.
A number of parks saw upgrades, like Jubilee Park’s (Southampton) first phase of work which included asphalt pathways, landscaping, a multi-use court and construction of two pavilions.
Phase one of work on the North Shore Park was also completed and included a new parking lot entrance, changes to parking, asphalt walking paths, a central activity area with a pavilion, gardens and accessible space, re- naturalization of the previous harbour entrance and playground area, tree planting and landscaping.
The Town says it completed about 80 per cent of the first phase of work on Helliwell Park in Southampton including electrical, site grading and irrigation. They say remaining work this spring includes concrete pads, light standards, sod, and site furnishings.
A12-month ice rink pilot program was completed in 2025 and a summary report on arena use is due to come before council this year.
The new Lamont Sports Park in the south end of Port Elgin hosted 12 baseball tournaments, and Wifi and cameras were also installed in the park in 2025.
Meanwhile, in terms of major road work, a large portion of High Street in downtown Southampton was reconstructed from Victoria Street to Grosvenor Street. Changes were made to parking, bump-outs and stop signs were added along with new sidewalks, and some benches and bike racks were installed.
Also on High Street, the Southampton Cenotaph rejuvenation project saw some progress. Council approved the final design for the Southampton Cenotaph project. The Town says the rejuvenation project will be included in the second half of the High Street reconstruction project later this year.
Reconstruction work was also done on Goderich Street (Highway 21) in Port Elgin and road work was done on Victoria Street, Burns Lane, and Macauley Lane.
Road reconstruction was completed.
2025 saw the implementation of Strong Mayor Powers in the town, along with 214 other municipalities. It gives mayors unprecedented power over council decisions. Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau spoke in opposition to the implementation of Strong Mayor powers in 2025, as did a number of other community leaders in Grey Bruce.
The Town also conducted an online FlashVote survey to gauge public interest in undertaking a further review of the electoral ward boundaries and council composition in Saugeen Shores, but say “results did not indicate a strong desire for change in boundaries and composition at this time.” They say they’ll do another survey in 2027.
As for housing, through the Saugeen Shores Municipal Housing Allowance Subsidy, 30 households were supported. That’s ten more than the previous year. The Town worked to develop non-profit housing partnerships, awarded a project to Tim Welch Consulting to design and develop 140 affordable housing units and a park on Town-owned lands. It also created and made available an Additional Residential Unit toolkit with standardized modular housing designs for people to use.
In 2026, it continues to work on an affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan. It’s also working on an easier to use and more efficient permit planning system for those who want to build in the town.
Also of note, a new town website launched, as well as “Engage Saugeen Shores” an online platform on the Town’s website that offers information about projects and meetings as well as opportunities for public input.
Other interesting stats included in the annual report: The Town issued 15 business and 42 marriage licences in 2025. 269 thousand lbs of trash collected from local park bins. There were over 100 free community events like live music, skates and swims.
Looking at 2026, Saugeen Shores is also working on setting up an online customer portal for water and property tax billing. A tourist camp strategic assessment is scheduled to be completed in 2026, as well as a harbour strategic assessment work is also planned on the Lamont and Helliwell Park washrooms and the findings of a source separated organics feasibility study are due to be brought forward to Council for consideration in 2026.