By Jamie Mountain
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
TEMAGAMI – Temagami council gave bylaw 20-1518 a first reading and approved it at its last regular meeting on July 16.
The purpose of the bylaw, should it pass, is for the municipality to acquire the Temagami Dry soft drink trademark and its associated product lines.
Fortier Beverages, which in recent years has bottled and distributed Temagami Dry, has made the decision not to continue producing those products.
The company has offered to sell the trademark and the production/distribution rights for Temagami Dry, which has been bottled and sold in the area since 1916, to the municipality for $7,500.
“Opportunities to acquire a well-established trademark, especially one that evokes many memories of the Temagami area, are very rare,” Temagami Mayor Dan O’Mara said in a statement.
“Owning this would provide the municipality with different economic development possibilities with little risk and outlay of money.”
See related: Temagami Dry may get its own taste of Temagami DryMayor O’Mara told council at the July 16 meeting that various citizens, who are on board with the purchase, have already provided donations to the town that total the full purchasing price of the trademark.
“With the initial acquisition costs being provided by generous donors, this may be a way for us to have a revenue option without raising property taxes,” O’Mara noted.
The municipality does not have to start a beverage company itself but could license the production of the ginger ale and cream soda varieties of Temagami Dry, which are included in the potential trademark acquisition.
The possibility also exists to allow for the expansion of product lines, which would provide more licensing opportunities.
“This is all new for council and some may feel that this is not a role for council to get into,” O’Mara said in an email message.
“My position is that I do not feel we should be getting into the soft drink business, but trying to promote this to others, and accepting a royalty for using the trademark is something we can do.”
STRATEGIC PLAN
The municipality says it is in the final stages of approving a strategic plan for the next few years and some recommendations by its consultant included the establishment of an economic development entity.
Part of that could be a body, separate from council, which would manage the Temagami Dry trademark and its usage.
“Council has set some lofty goals designed to ensure the Municipality of Temagami is well established moving forward,” O’Mara commented.
“With the whole of council, and the hard work from staff, we should be able to discuss the various reports being worked on as we move through the fall. Adding the Temagami Dry trademark as an economic development and possible tourism attraction tool at this time would allow this to be part of the ‘Future of our Municipality’ discussions at that point.”
Council also is welcoming comments from the public prior to considering the second and third reading of bylaw 20-1518 at its next regular meeting on August 6.
A summary and statement are available on the municipal website at www.temagami.ca and has been distributed electronically to ratepayers, where possible.
Alternatively, comments can be sent to [email protected] or mailed to the municipal office at 7 Lakeshore Drive, P.O. Box 220, Temagami, ON, P0H 2H0.
“At one time Temagami Dry was a popular product in the North and why could it not be today? Imagine if we could get a company producing it and they market it saying proceeds from the sale will go to the Temagami region, which is well known for its wilderness and old growth white pine forest,” Mayor O’Mara reasoned.
“Also, besides soft drinks we could also have arrangements for water or beer...look out Muskoka Brewery. Anyways, what do we have to lose? The money required to acquire this has already been matched by a number of local citizens through donations they are willing to make to the town. We also will get the Temagami Dry recipe.”
