Editor:
The Peach is one of the most iconic buildings in Penticton. It has been rolled into the lake in the ’90s and is located at our busiest beach. The Peach is getting new residents serving lemonade. This will be an unpopular view for many residents as it has been awarded to someone outside the province and not to a local business.
I believe the City of Penticton conducted a lawful Request for Proposal (RFP) and awarded the three year contract to a company that will give the city the best value. I worked with City staff for the RFP for the Skaha Lake Marina. I was very impressed with the process because city staff worked professionally and fairly. They followed the city’s Procurement Policy to every word and ensured the process was fair and the City and community got the best value.
The city’s procurement process is governed by their Procurement Policy which is governed by Provincial and Federal legislation. This document guides the fair and lawful procurement process to ensure the city is getting the best value and all businesses have a fair chance at competing for this License to Use Agreement. Public funds cannot be awarded to favourable businesses or individuals based on public opinion, status, or friendships. This means the city cannot “Direct Award” the contract. If they directly awarded the contract, other businesses in Penticton, the province and nationally could take the city to court because they could argue they can provide the same if not better service.
READ MORE: Feeling the squeeze: Penticton tries to explain choosing lemonade stand over The Peach
The City does have a threshold to directly award a contract to a business. If the value of the procurement is $0 to $5,000 it can be directly awarded. Because there was a public competition then I believe this contract is over that threshold and the city could not directly award the contract.
The awarded company operates outside of British Columbia and has some ties locally. The City cannot award a contract just based on a business being local. Trade Agreements must be followed and this allows businesses and individuals from outside the city, province, and even the country to bid on these contracts. Because the city awarded the contract to Family Squeezed Lemonade, they probably offered a better value to the City of Penticton over the next three years to operate out of the Peach. I can only speculate, because I am not privy to the RFP, that Family Squeeze Lemonade has provided the city a more substantial annual fee. Giving the city more money over the next three years.
It is awesome to see how much of a following The Peach has created and how people love the crazy shakes. License to Use Agreements are meant to be short, three years, to allow for other entrepreneurs the opportunity to operate a business and for the city to benefit by getting the best value through a competition.
Isaac Gilbert
Chair of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee