— Owners say change will cut their business by 50% —
(OSOYOOS TIMES — Dec. 27, 2006) —
By Julie TurnerrnOsoyoos Times
After the last campers have pulled out of Brookvale Holiday Resort at the end of the next summer, the lakeside portion of the property will revert back to a public park.
At its December 14 meeting, the RDOS board approved Area 'A' Director Mark Pendergraft's recommendation to not renew the lease for the park and to return it back to a fully public facility.
Osoyoos Lake Regional Park, approximately two acres in size and located along Lakeshore Drive in the Regional District, has been leased to the owners of Brookvale Holiday Resort since the early 1980s.
The lease expires next year, but Brookvale caretakers Cathryn and Ken Herbert have asked for a five-year extension. They say losing the park will reduce their revenue by 50 per cent, and were led to believe (but had no guarantees) when they bought the campground and entered into the existing lease five years ago, it would be for two five-year terms. They claim they based their business plan on that assumption.
The Herberts say the park has benefited by improvements they have made and paid for. In letters sent to Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen Director Mark Pendergraft and the RDOS Board in October and November, the couple states they have received a lot of positive feedback from those that use the park on a regular basis and have always addressed any concerns from neighbours promptly. They say Brookvale operates on a zero tolerance policy when it comes to people misbehaving at the park, and that locals, rather than campground patrons, have caused the majority of problems.
Pendergraft says he has not based his decision on any particular problems at the resort, but says that during the creation of Area 'A's Official Community Plan in 2004, the future use of this park was discussed and it was written into the OCP that when the contract expired, consideration would be given to returning the park to public use.rnHe says since elected in November 2005, he has received a steady stream of calls and comments from people who want to see the park returned to public use when the lease expires. He adds although the owners of Brookvale resort have maintained the park well and allowed the public to use the beach, he agreed the park should revert to public use since there are no public beaches on the east side of Osoyoos.
Between 1981 and 1996, the RDOS received an annual sum of $1,000 for the lease. In 1997, a formal agreement was drawn up and pushed that figure to $3,000 per year. Then in 2002 the next agreement was negotiated and the fees were $3,800 for the first year, $5,800 for the next two years, and $7,800 for years four and five. The agreement expires August 31, 2007.
The funds that were paid by Brookvale to the RDOS over the years have gone to the Rural Ratepayers group. The last two years, however, the funds were split between the [Osoyoos Lake] Water Quality Society and the Oxbows Society, Pendergraft explains.
The ratepayers started a reserve fund to put towards returning the park to public use¦ and also had the foresight to apply for and acquire the accreted foreshore, making the park nearly two acres in size; I commend the group for their efforts.rnPendergraft notes in the summer of 2008, Osoyoos Lake Regional Park will be a day use facility to be enjoyed by all. A parking lot will be created and fencing “ with a few pedestrian access points “ will be added.
As the park is close to the Town boundary but in the Regional District, Pendergraft says the Town has expressed interest in establishing a fee-for-service agreement with the District on park maintenance and bylaw enforcement, and negotiations still need to take place to determine what that agreement might look like.
Pendergraft admits he worried over the fact some people might feel the loss of lakeside campsites at Brookvale, which number over 50, would be a blow to Osoyoos.
I understand this thought; this was one of the concerns I struggled with when considering not renewing the lease with Brookvale. However, I feel that the benefits of this going back to the public outweigh the loss of the campsites. I remind people that Brookvale does have sites on their own private property and it is my understanding that they will still be available for rent.
The Herberts question why, with the ongoing financial benefits of the lease arrangement to the RDOS, and given the current state of campsite availability in the Osoyoos area, the decision is being made not to renew their lease. They say they don't yet know what their future plans will be for the remaining Brookvale sites.
