After winning two national titles, Port Carling’s Communities in Bloom committee wants to call it quits.

“We won the national championship this year, which was nice, but a lot of work,” said committee chair Perry Bowker, who confirmed the committee won’t continue in 2009.

Bowker, who has served on the committee for five years, said volunteers are tired and the committee is also having difficulty recruiting enough people to help out.

“We have had a couple of our key volunteers drop away, so we are down to a pretty small number and we are not able, at the moment, to replace (them),” said Bowker. “People are not interested.”

Bowker hopes the Township of Muskoka Lakes parks and recreation department will take the reins on the beautification effort like municipalities in other communities do.

“We are probably one of the few places in all of Canada where Communities in Bloom is not operated by the municipal government,” said Bowker.

The remaining volunteers, he added, would be more than happy to form an advisory committee for the township.

“I am very hopeful the town will take it on,” said Bowker. “It could be that more people come forward and we are up and running next year. But at the moment, we are saying, ‘no, we are going to give it a rest.’”

Mayor Susan Pryke confirmed council received information that the committee would be unable to continue in 2009. No decision was made regarding the future of the committee, she indicated.

Councillors express regret

Pryke said councillors expressed regret that after a wonderful season this year, the committee did not want to continue.

She could not comment on whether the township would take on a leadership role for the committee, adding it is an issue for council to decide.

Council may look at the issue at budget time, at the end of this year or early next year, said Pryke. Currently the township provides a grant for the committee.

Pryke met with the committee members privately in October.

“Often with volunteer committees, there are peaks and valleys and volunteers get burned out. I think that is the case here,” said Pryke.

She hopes new volunteers will come forward.

“What would be an ideal situation would be, of course, if there were some leaders (in the community) willing to step up to plate and take on the job,” said Pryke.

Communities in Bloom started in Port Carling in 1999, said Bowker. Port Carling won four blooms and the provincial award in 2001, five blooms and the national award in 2002, five blooms in the 2004 international competition, and five blooms in the networking category in 2005.