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Penticton  

City cuts ties with Trio

The City of Penticton is cutting ties with the Trio Marine Group, putting the final nail in the coffin of a proposal that sparked protests and debate over the use of public green space.

The city will be spending $200,000 to get out of the proposed 29-year lease with the company to upgrade and operate the Skaha Lake Marina beyond 2018.

“The Trio Marine Group will continue to operate the Marina through to the end of 2018,” Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.

The original proposal included waterslides and the use of park space, leading to an outcry and citizen lawsuits filed against the city.

But after the waterslides and park space were removed from the development proposal last fall, it dropped the amount of investment significantly, “reducing the value to the community and the need for a long-term agreement with a third party,” the city stated.

In addition to the $200,000 termination fee, the City of Penticton has spent $168,000 in legal and administrative costs dealing with the file in the last two years, offset by $112,900 in revenue collected as a part of the current agreement.

Mayor Jakubeit said a “comprehensive community engagement process” will guide future decisions around park land use.

The Save Skaha Park Society released a statement Wednesday, saying they were “delighted” with the news, noting they called on the city to take this step back in Nov. 2016

“It is unfortunate that it took the City of Penticton this long and at these costs, to realize it as well,” said spokesperson Lisa Martin.



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