A petition to save the Mooretown Campground from closure has gained momentum.
John D'Angela, a spokesman for a committee launched to save the campground, said a paper petition has been signed by over 1,300 people and an online petition has received around 700 signatures.
"We want to save it, it's a public campground. Anybody can come in there at any time. Walk their dogs if they want to, go for a walk, do whatever they want to do. It's basically a diamond in the rough," D'Angela said.
The Sarnia resident said he and his wife chose the campground because of its proximity to the city and its amenities.
"There's a pool, there's tennis courts, volleyball courts, a pavilion. The committee has actually brought the campers back together. There's always something going on," he said.
D'Angela said the committee has gathered information on grants and wants to continue working with St. Clair Township council on a solution.
"Let's get it going. Let's fix what we have. Let's publicize, get more campers in there. Let's expand it a little bit because there's room to expand. There's all kinds of opportunities," he added.
Earlier this year, township council decided to delay a motion calling for the municipally owned campground to close at the end of this season, to the end of the 2026 season.
Mayor Jeff Agar said the 141-site campground is in need of a lot of infrastructure repairs.
"We're talking probably $2 million bucks, [or] in that range, and it was scheduled to be closed but we prolonged it for another year to see if we can come up with some different ideas to be able to keep it going," Agar said.
He said grant funding is already being explored.
"In the last couple weeks I've talked to (Sarnia-Lambton MP) Marilyn Gladu to see what the federal government has available, and I've sent away to (Sarnia-Lambton MPP) Bob Bailey. I don't know if the province has anything. We're pretty good at getting grants, so it there's anything available it would be nice to see. But, there's nothing yet. I'm hopeful," Agar said.
He said no one wants to close the campground, but if the funding can't be found they may have to.
"You only have so much money to go around for everything, you don't want to cut anything. So, we're trying," said Agar. "We don't want to shut it down. It's just... come push and shove, maybe someday it might have to be, but that's not in my plan right now. I hope we can do something to keep it open."
The township has said if the decision is made to close the campground, staff would help relocate campers to other St. Clair Township parks.
The campground's revenue in the past three years totalled just under $98,000, and the operation required nearly another $37,500 from the township to cover capital and operating costs over those same years.
