This is an artist’s rendering of what one of the four new Welcome signs into the Town of Osoyoos will look like once they are installed in the coming months. Town of Osoyoos council voted Monday to award the contract to take down the current signs and erect four new ones at a cost of $146,000 to Landmark Signs from Victoria. (Town of Osoyoos photo)

Town of Osoyoos council voted to pay close to $150,000 to install four new Welcome signs into our resort community on Monday, but local taxpayers won’t be on the hook for a penny as the entire cost will be taken from Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) funding sent to the Town for 2018.

A committee of two representatives from council and two members of the Destination Osoyoos’ board of directors was formed to select the new design and costs involved with the four Welcome signs.

The Town received seven proposals for this project with a total of nine different design options. The costs ranged from $55,000 to $212,000.

After deliberations, the committee voted in favour of awarding the contract to Landmark Signs from Victoria for a price of $146,276.

Jim Dinwoodie, the Town’s director of operational services, said the Welcome signs will provide a dramatic improvement to the signage welcoming visitors to our community and the price of the Landmark Signs proposal is in the mid-range of proposals received.

“In order for the contractor to begin work immediately, Town council should award this contract as soon as possible,” said Dinwoodie.

Mayor Sue McKortoff said she really liked the look and design of the four signs, saying they were simple, but effective.

Each of the four signs will have the Town’s logo on the front with a caption reading, Canada’s Warmest Welcome. On the back, they will have the Town’s logo and a caption reading, See You Soon.

The Osoyoos logo will be back lit with LED lighting on all four signs.

The signs will be roughly nine feet in height. The contract also calls for the contractor to tear down the Town’s current Welcome signs and provide lighting on the new signs.

Chief administrative officer Barry Romanko said the Town currently has a budget of $150,000 to pay for signage in an RMI fund it receives from the province.

While staff recommended paying for most of the project out of this fund, council would have the option of spending some money from general reserves, he said. The province’s RMI funding program provides money to the province’s 14 resort municipalities. They can use the money to complete infrastructure projects and other projects designed to promote tourism.

The Town of Osoyoos has received an average of more than $400,000 annually through the program over the past several years.

All resort communities involved in the program must charge a hotel and motel room tax – which usually ranges from two to three per cent – which is forwarded to the provincial government.

The provincial government announced a few weeks ago it would be extending its RMI funding program for 2018.

While council had the option of using general revenues to partially fund this contract, they voted in favour of a staff recommendation to pay the entire $150,000 out of RMI funding for 2018.

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times