“These strategically located concessions offer locals and visitors convenient refreshment options during the summer,” says Kelsey Johnson, the City’s general manager of community services. “Additionally, as the land where the buildings are located is dedicated parkland, the Parkland Protection and Use Policy requires any new agreements within parkland follow a step procedure and receive a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee to issue an RFP for renewing and selecting tenants.”
The City uses the RFP process for each of the City’s four seasonal concessions, which currently occurs every three to five years, and is based on the principle of keeping opportunities for commercial use of City parkland transparent, fair and equitable.
Following the City’s Park Land Protection and Use Policy, Staff presented a report to Council on Feb 11, 2025, for direction on seeking operators for the next term of these concessions. A second report was presented to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee on Feb 24, 2025, followed by a final report to City Council on Mar 4, 2025, containing the committee recommendation to move forward with the RFP process.
The 2025 renewal process opens March 14. Proposals will be evaluated by a committee of staff based on a set of criteria. A successful proponent will be selected based on the outcome of the evaluation committee’s review. The intent is to issue and award the RFP in time for the concessions to open on May 1 so there is no interruption in service.
The operators will be responsible for utilities, day-to-day upkeep, safety and security of the building. Wherein the City will continue to be responsible for the major maintenance of the building, surrounding grounds and adjoining washrooms.
There are currently four beach concessions buildings in Penticton. The other two are the Sudbury Beach and Skaha Main concessions and the contracts for those expire September 30, 2028.
The Request for Proposal can be found here.
