Local businesses get little leeway

A jumble of trade agreements and legislation is what prevents municipal staff from giving preference to local suppliers, Penticton city council heard during a presentation ordered in response to The Peach fiasco.

“One of the criteria we often use (to score bids) would be experience, and I would say that would likely be where we score previous incumbents’ experience in running the business. But because the city has to be careful about providing aid to business, we’d have to be very careful that we weren’t providing opportunity to one business over another,” explained Angela Campbell, the city’s finance director.

The only time a local company could be given preference, she continued, is if its bid is identical to others received from out-of-town suppliers.

“So, you couldn’t have a criteria that says I’m going to give you extra points for being local, but if you reviewed three proposals and they were all the same, then you could give preference to the local person. You just can’t have the criteria where you give them the preference in advance,” said Campbell.

Her presentation was delivered at the request of council in the wake of city staff’s decision in March to award a three-year lease on The Peach concession stand to Family Squeezed Lemonade, thereby ousting popular long-time operator Diana Stirling.

Coun. James Miller, who made waves by publicly criticizing The Peach decision, suggested the city’s procurement policy should be reviewed with an eye to making it more friendly to local suppliers while not running afoul of trade agreements and legislation.

“I understand that a local company maybe shouldn’t have a stranglehold on something, but when somebody’s doing a good job and there seems to be public support and sentiment on their side, I think that should almost weigh 80% in favour,” said Miller, who was careful to note he doesn’t question the efforts or ethics of city staff.

He also suggested council should review proposed bid awards — there were 54 last year — before they’re made final, and that a city press release that described Family Squeezed Lemonade as a “local operator” was “misleading.”

(The city later clarified that Family Squeezed Lemonade is “local” in the sense that some members of the operating family live in Kelowna.)

The city’s five-page procurement policy was last reviewed by council in 2019 and won’t be getting a fresh look anytime soon, as Campbell’s presentation was accepted for information only.

“I will suggest that past councils maybe deserve a little more credit than Coun. Miller is giving them to put together a process that creates arm’s-length decisions,” said Coun. Campbell Watt, who has held office since 2014.