Beach resto review ongoing
City council is awaiting a staff report due out in May that will recommend new terms for the lease agreement on the Beach’s popular Boardwalk Pub.
In 2006 the city agreed to renew the lease of longtime operator, Tuggs Inc., for 20 years on the condition that it carry out at least $2.15 million in upgrades to the facility by January 2009. At the time, the agreement garnered some criticism for avoiding a competitive bidding process to lease the lucrative facility.
However, citing the economic downturn, Tuggs failed to carry out the improvements by the end of last year, triggering a review of the agreement by city staff.
“We’ll seek direction from council on the results of our negotiation,” said Doug McDonald, business manager at the parks department.
Although staff have already decided on a recommendation in their report, McDonald would not say what it is, as it’s still being debated by the city’s legal and finance divisions. McDonald did say there is a commitment to capital investments and ongoing rent payments on Tuggs’ part.
“(Negotiations) have been protracted because there was not a clear understanding on the part of the operator or on the part of staff in terms of what we were negotiating,” he said.
The report is expected to go to government management committee and then on to council, where the matter will be decided in May.
