Tourism agency moving to city-owned house would save thousands: report
Anew location for Travel Penticton is set to be much cheaper than the tourism group’s initial ask. City council at its meeting today will consider a five-year lease for Travel Penticton at 888 Westminster Ave.
The building, which is owned by the city, once housed a predecessor of the tourism agency before its move to the building gobbled up by Cascades Casino.
Since then, Travel Penticton has been housed in a modular building on the South Okanagan Events Centre campus.
If the $20,000-a-year lease is approved, the city will have to first cut ties with one current tenant, the BC Wine Authority, which has offered to move out early in exchange for reimbursement of $19,528 in moving costs.
“The moving costs and building improvements are minimal in comparison to the initial requested funding of $300,000 for the purchase of a new building to accommodate Travel Penticton,” states a staff report to council authored by Peter Wallace, city land administrator.
The 2018 budget included $30,000 for improvements to the Westminster building — upgrading the bathroom, exterior lighting and other general improvements.
Meanwhile, council is also looking to settle up funds and learn lessons from the ITU Multisport Festival held in August 2017.
Key areas where improvements should be made, according to a staff report, include traffic congestion, concerns from businesses regarding limited or closed access, plus parking and other issues.
ITU Festival in-kind expenditures were over budget by roughly $22,000, however, the related Challenge event was under budget by around $15,000.
“The higher costs for ITU were largely the result of greater attendance than initially anticipated,” states a staff report by city finance manager Jim Bauer.
Also on the agenda, council will look at changing the mobile food vending licence program to allow for mobile retail trucks to be authorized, one at a time, for Power Street, Gyro Park and Skaha Lake.
In March 2017, the city embarked on a one-year pilot program with one mobile retail vendor, Chic Mobile Boutique.
“The proposed changes, based on the pilot program, are considered minor and respectful to the needs of the existing business community,” states a staff report by director of development services Anthony Haddad.
“Although there is a retail presence in the 100 block of Main Street, support for the continuation of allowing retail trucks in the Gyro Park location is considered appropriate.”
Finally, council will consider rezoning the property at 237 Phoenix Ave., from large lot residential to duplex housing to allow for construction of a duplex.
The meeting begins at 1 p.m. in council chambers and is open to the public.