Peachland’s mayor doesn’t want the district to renew its contract with the Chamber of Commerce which allows the chamber to operate Peachland’s visitor centre, saying the costs could be better utilized to support businesses.
Mayor Cindy Fortin said the cost to the district is roughly $70,000 a year. A few months ago the chamber approached the district wanting to renew its operational contract of the centre that expires in 2020 and change it until 2024, but Fortin thinks otherwise.
“We have a responsibility to the taxpayers. Do we not feel that we could operate the visitor centre for a little bit less money in the age of social media and the ability to look on our phones. I think we need the visitor centre, but I’m wondering if we could do it at a lesser cost,” she said. “It’s a lot of money.”
Fortin said she still wants the chamber to operate it, but some of the money could go towards promoting local business.
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“I just think we could do it for less money and do we really want to get into a contract until 2024, at this day and age?”
“I would like to see the building a little bit better,” she said, adding that the visitor centre doesn’t need to be quite as big or expensive.
She posted a rant in a Facebook group about the costs Friday night, which gathered a fair amount of attention in the group, earning 27 likes and comments as of Saturday afternoon.
The visitor centre is currently operated out of the Historic Peachland School site at 5684 Beach Avenue. Voicemails were left for the Chamber of Commerce and the centre’s board of directors Saturday afternoon.
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