The District of Invermere (DOI) has issued a call for applicants who are interested in operating the Kinsmen Beach concession stand.
“We are waiting for proposals,” said Chris Prosser, DOI chief administrative officer, by email. “We are waiting for them to be submitted by the deadline.”
Previously, on Tuesday, May 12th, the DOI council unanimously (excluding mayor Gerry Taft, who abstained from the vote due to a perceived conflict of interest since he previously operated his Gerry’s Gelati business at the venue) approved the decision to award a three-year contract to the Three Voices Of Healing Society to help those who have completed the addictions treatment reintegrate into the Columbia Valley community by gaining work experience in a healthy environment. Three Voices has since lost its federal funding after financial mismanagement allegations surfaced in December.
The DOI is taking applications for the 2016 contract until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 17th.
“We want to ensure there’s a service (being offered) for 2016 and we want to tread a bit cautiously with who the operator is going to be because of the last situation we had,” said Taft. “We did a three-year contract, but it didn’t end up working out for three years. I think there’s some flexibility if we get a good proposal or somebody’s doing it longer than a year. We would consider that, too.”
Moving forward, Taft believes there are certain characteristics that will stand out among applicants this time around.
“The main motivation for the district is to have good customer service and a good product, as well as seeing it (the concession) open as much as possible,” he concluded. “The service can become more important than the rent money. The other challenge or limitation has been that the space doesn’t have a lot of equipment inside of it, so we’re looking for someone that’s willing to invest and bring their own equipment.”
Alternatively, Taft thinks an applicant could also rent or buy kitchen equipment to operate the concession at Kinsmen Beach.
“That has been a concern raised by a few people who were interested in looking at it because they were looking at having a fully equipped space to walk into,” he said. “We’re looking to limit our exposure to investing in restaurant equipment because we’re looking for a private operator to come with that equipment.”
For information about the call for proposals, please contact CAO Chris Prosser at 250-342-9281 ext. 1225.