The City of Penticton is once again looking after Airport Beach, thanks to a new agreement with the landowner.
The city looked after the beach for many years under a lease agreement with the owners, the Kruger family. When the lease came up for renewal in 2014, just prior to the Boonstock Music Festival, the Krugers told the city they no longer wished to lease out the land and requested the city discontinue maintenance of the beach and its facilities.
Related: Penticton loses lease on Airport Beach
Airport Beach will again get the same treatment as the other Skaha Lake beaches, with the city providing beach cleaning and maintenance services for the remainder of the summer and in exchange, the landowner will continue to allow public access to the beach for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.
“We both agree that keeping the beach attractive and accessible benefits everyone,” says Mayor Andrew Jakubeit. “The city has the specialized equipment and trained operators to do the work and can step in to provide this important service during the peak of the summer season.”
The city is wrapping up the initial clean this week at an estimated cost of $6,000. Another $5,000 is estimated to perform maintenance through to the end of summer. The city has provided similar services at Airport Beach in the past. Prior to 2014, thecity paid about $57,000 per year to lease the beach plus the costs to perform maintenance.