The City of Penticton announced the termination of the agreement with the Trio Marine Group

It was an expensive lesson for Penticton city council, that taxpayers are footing the bill for.

The City of Penticton is paying a $200,000 termination fee for abandoning a development agreement with the Trio Marine Group for the marina and restaurant at the Skaha Lake Marina.

“Maybe there is a bit of an upfront cost right now, but moving forward with a better scenario in place at Skaha over the next 29 years, I am sure we will be further ahead,” said Mayor Andrew Jakubeit.

Enacting the terms of the agreement means the end of a proposed 29-year lease with Trio Marine Group to upgrade and operate the marina beyond the 2018 season.

Though the cancellation was announced today, the decision was made earlier this summer.

“We initiated this in the late summer and agreed to announce it September so it wouldn’t impact their business operations. We are sensitive to that,” said Jakubeit. The Trio Marine Group will continue to operate the marina through to end of 2018.

The City of Penticton said the key reason for the decision began last fall when the waterslides and use of green space were removed from the development proposal.

Source: City of Penticton press release