The Kelowna Wibit (pictured), like the one in Penticton, is very popular with youngsters or all ages. (Okanagan Wibit photo)
Members of Town of Osoyoos council will conduct a site visit to Legion Beach to get more details about a planned Wibit inflatable water park tentatively planned to open in the spring or early summer of 2018.
Council also voted in favour of holding a public information session in the coming weeks in relation to the inflatable water park proposal.
Last year, the Town received a few enquiries from business operators interested in establishing an inflatable waterpark in Osoyoos, said Alain Cunningham, the Town’s director of planning and development services.
“Council selected a prospective location at Legion Beach after considering various options, shortlisting two possible sites and reviewing survey results and comments from 249 respondents,” said Cunningham, during a presentation to council on Monday. “At council’s regular meeting on Nov. 21, 2016, they resolved to release the results of the inflatable waterpark proposal survey to the public and to proceed with a Request For Proposal for the establishment on an inflatable waterpark at Legion Beach.”
After review by the Town’s Waterfront Steering Committee, an RFP was released on Jan. 11, 2017 and the RFP required a lengthy list of contents relating to lease value, business arrangements and details about the prospective operators of the waterpark, said Cunningham.
“In view of these rigorous requirements, it is perhaps not surprising that only one proposal was received from a well-established company in this field,” he said.
Brittany and Rylie Gallagher of Okanagan Wibit are the only ones to submit a proposal to the Town and the detailed information they provided reflects their experience in operating similar Wibit waterparks in Penticton and Kelowna – with another scheduled to open this summer in Peachland.
Member of the Waterfront Steering Committee had many questions about the proposed waterpark and all of their concerns were answered in the package presented to council, said Cunningham.
Residents from Osoyoos will have the opportunity to learn more about the proposal and provide comments and feedback at the upcoming public forum, he said.
The owners of Wibit Okanagan would be responsible for paying an annual lease payment to the Town, liability insurance, head lease fees to the Province and Town, B.C. Assessment taxes, a business license and application to the Province for changes to the Water Sustainability Act.
Considering all of the work still needed to be completed, the earliest this park would be operational is the spring of 2018, said Cunningham.
The package to council suggests the park would attract 80 customers a day with a daily fee of $25 and would have capacity to increase daily usage to 120 people.
No date for the site visit by members of council was announced at Monday’s meeting.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
