SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 1
CS&B COMMITTEE AGENDA
JUNE 26, 1997
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: May 14,1997
C.C. File No. 4155-1
TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM: General Manager of Parks & Recreation
SUBJECT: Brockton Totem Poles Concession / Visitor Centre
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT funding for the proposed Visitor Centre at the Brockton Totem Poles Site in Stanley Park as proposed in
Appendix A, be approved with financing to be provided by a loan from the Capital Financing Fund on terms
satisfactory to the Director of Finance to be repaid from the park Board Global Budget.
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE S COMMENTS
The Director of Finance notes that this project is being brought forward by the Park Board for
funding approval. In addition, the Board is requesting that Council provide project financing. It
is being funded outside the Park Board Capital Plan because the project, as presented by the Board,
demonstrates a reasonable business plan with a payback period within the acceptable range. The Board
proposes to repay the loan from the incremental net revenues that the project will generate, without
further City participation.
Should Council agree to finance the new Visitor Centre, the Director of Finance supports the source
proposed in the recommendation, being a loan from the Capital Financing Fund. Under current
financing terms, the loan will be repaid within eight years at the City s current financing rate.
COUNCIL POLICY
There is no Council policy directly applicable to this matter. From time to time Council has approved loans
from the Capital Financing Fund to finance capital projects, with the Fund being repaid for both principal
and interest.
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PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to request that City Council provide funding on a loan basis for the proposed
Visitor Centre at the Brockton Totem Pole site in Stanley Park.
BACKGROUND
On May 5, 1997 the Park Board approved a staff report (Appendix A) recommending that the concept for a new
Visitor Centre be built at the Brockton Totem Pole site in Stanley Park. The following resolutions were
passed by the Board:
. THAT the Board approve the concept of a Concession / Visitor Centre at the Brockton Totem
Pole site in Stanley Park.
. THAT an architect be retained to prepare a concept design for the Board s approval.
. THAT the Board request City Council to provide funding on a loan basis for the proposed
Visitor Centre.
. THAT staff hold discussions with the lessee of the Prospect Point CafÇ and report back on a
marketing strategy for the new concession.
. THAT the interpretative and commercial components will acknowledge the history of the local
First Nations and their involvement; and their counsel will be sought on the development of
these elements.
. THAT staff be directed to look into the possibility of holding a competition for architects
to come up with various concepts and designs for the Visitor Centre.
Discussion on the proposed Visitor Centre took place at the Board s Planning and Environment Committee on
April 14th and 28th. Delegations were heard at the first meeting and resolutions D and E address concerns
that were raised by some of the speakers. Resolution F resulted from a staff suggestion that the Board
initiate a design competition from a pre-selected group of architects.
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DISCUSSION
There are many demands on the Board s capital plan allocation and projects such as the Totem Poles Visitor
Centre that have a sound business plan with a viable payback period should be considered for alternative
funding whenever possible. In this way the City will gain an important asset which will produce an increased
level of service to the public and a constant revenue stream in future years.
As stated in Appendix A, the payback period for the $500,000 loan is between 7 - 8 years. Net revenues at
the Brockton Cricket Pavilion and Totem Pole mobile units totaled $45,000 in 1996 and are estimated to
increase to $120,000 in the first year of the Centre s operation.
Council have previously approved loans for other Park Board capital projects that have shown to have viable
payback periods. The Burrard Marina received a loan of over $1,000,000 in 1981 for new concrete floats and
services that was repaid in 1996. The three golf courses are nearing the end of a $25,000,000 renovation
program with a payback schedule that retires the debt in 2010.
The Board intends to hold a public meeting to discuss the design options for the Visitor Centre before any
final decision is made.
CONCLUSION
The Brockton Visitor Centre is a project that has a good business plan, will increase the Board s service to
the public and generate additional revenues to the City in the years to come.
* * * * *
APPENDIX A
April 3, 1997
SUBJECT: BROCKTON TOTEM POLES CONCESSION/VISITOR CENTRE
RECOMMENDATION:
1. That the Board approve the concept of a Concession /
Visitor Centre at the Brockton Totem Pole site in
Stanley Park.
2. That an architect be retained to prepare a concept
design for the Board s approval.
3. That the Board request City Council to provide funding
on a loan basis for the proposed Visitor Centre.
BACKGROUND
On February 5, 1990 the Board agreed to hold a public
information meeting to discuss the idea of a visitor service
centre at the Brockton Totem Poles site. As is the case today,
the Brockton Totem Pole area was identified as one of the most
popular attractions in Vancouver, and the proposed visitor
centre would incorporate an Interpretative component, public
washrooms and a concession.
On March 8, 1990 a public information meeting was held at the
Robson Square Media Centre. Seventeen delegations were heard and
one written submission was received. The majority of the
speakers were opposed to the proposed facility. Reasons included
spoiling the tranquillity of the site, the questionable need for
an interpretation centre, keeping the park as natural as
possible, increased commercialism and the potential to upgrade
concessions and washrooms in other areas of the park. Reasons in
favour of the project included improved services for tourists
and families and the need for washrooms at this site.
On April 23, 1990 the Board resolved to table a decision on
whether to build a visitor service centre at the Brockton Totem
Poles area indefinitely.
On October 29, 1991 staff made a presentation on the proposed
visitor service centre to the Stanley Park Task Force that was
generally well received. When their final report was released in
May, 1992, however, the issue of the visitor centre at the
Brockton Totem Pole site was not addressed.
DISCUSSION
Since 1990 the Totem Poles area has become an even more popular
attraction for park visitors, especially those arriving by tour
buses. It is estimated that anywhere from 1.5 - 2 million
visitors come to this site every year. Due to many requests from
both tourists and local residents it is believed that the Board
should re-examine the need for a visitor centre and the benefits
that it would bring to the level of service that we presently
provide in Stanley Park.
There would be no increase to the number of buildings in Stanley
Park as the proposed centre would replace the existing carving
shed which was renovated in 1986 for Expo 86. At that time the
original area of 1096 sq.ft. was extended to 1643 sq.ft. A
temporary occupancy permit was issued for 1986 only and after
1986 it was only used for carving totem poles to replace the
existing ones.
The new Visitor Centre
The three components of the visitor centre, which each have
approximate space allocations of 700 sq. ft are discussed as
follows:
Interpretation
As part of the Park Board Centennial in 1988 efforts were made
to raise funds for an interpretative display to complement the
totem poles. Unfortunately, funding did not materialize.
At the proposed centre there would be information regarding the
totem poles, the carvers and their native cultures. The
interpretative themes and design concepts would also reflect the
Coast Salish Nations use of Stanley Park. Despite its extensive
use, the Coast Salish presence in the Park is not currently
acknowledged. Instead, the present focus of the site is the
Totem Poles, which are representative of the North and Central
Coast Nations. It is envisaged that the history of the area
would be portrayed and the part played by the early settlers to
the region. Interactive displays would be considered.
Washrooms
As a major tourist destination and visitor attraction, there is
a demand for public washrooms in the vicinity of the totem
poles. While public washrooms do exist at the Brockton Cricket
Pavilion, which is approximately 400 metres from the parking
lot, this is felt to be too far away to be convenient. Tour bus
patrons, seniors, people with disabilities and parents with
young children would all benefit from improved access to
washroom facilities at this site.
Concession
At present concession services to this area consist of two
mobile units that sell souvenir items that relate to the Totem
Poles area, ice cream and cold drinks. These mobile units are
stocked and serviced from the Brockton Cricket Pavilion
Concession. A breakdown of gross sales in 1996 is as follows:
Books $32,174
Film, Cameras, Batteries 26,467
Small Totem Poles 20,698
Post Cards 10,669
Totem Pole Magnets 5,551
Pins 3,968
Misc 5,859
SUBTOTAL $105,386
Ice Cream $43,148
Cold Drinks (est) 10,000
SUBTOTAL $ 53,148
TOTAL: $158,534
The net revenue from these mobile units was $39,633
The proposed concession will sell a limited selection of snacks
and drinks. There would be limited cooking and the menu would
include some items that relate to a West Coast native theme such
as salmon jerky.
The souvenir items would generally relate to the Totem Poles
area as before, however, the Board might wish to sell other
items in the future.
Impact on the Prospect Point CafÇ
Staff have met with the operator of the Prospect Point CafÇ, Mr
George Frankel to advise him of the recommendations in this
report. Prospect Point is usually the next stop on the tour bus
circuit and Mr Frankel has expressed concern previously about
losing potential business if a larger concession is built at the
Totem Poles.
Staff recognise that despite the millions of visitors that come
to the park each year, there could be some drop in Prospect
Point sales. The lessee has spent considerable funds in
renovating the facility and the Board benefits from a percentage
of total sales (8%) as rent.
There is a need, however, to improve customer services at the
totem poles and staff are willing to discuss a marketing
strategy with Mr Frankel that will enable both operations to
benefit.
Tour bus drivers often advise their patrons of the type of
merchandise that is available at the different stops at the
start of each trip, and the proposed small concession at the
Totem Poles will not compare with the established food services
and large gift shop at Prospect Point.
Funding to build the Concession/Visitor Centre
It is estimated that the total project cost to build the centre,
with a size of approximately 2100 sq. ft. is $500,000.
It is estimated that the new concession would generate net
revenues of $120,000, which are almost three times the sales
generated by the Cricket Pavilion concession and totem pole
mobile units ($45,000) in 1996. The payback period for a loan is
between 7 and 8 years based on new revenues of $75,000 inflated
annually at 3%.(Appendix 1)
Discussions with staff in the City s finance division indicate
the proposed payback period for the Totem Poles Visitor Centre
would be an acceptable time frame.
Brockton Clubhouse Concession
As mentioned above, sales out of the small concession on the
lower floor of the Brockton Cricket Pavilion are just $20,000.
Apart from being open for cricket and rugby games there is not
enough demand to open the concession on a daily basis.
The concession has been operated by the Board since 1984 when
the building was renovated. If the new visitor centre is
approved staff will explore whether the Brockton Clubhouse
Society might utilize the space but that no sales to the public
be permitted.
The Clubhouse washrooms have exterior doors that are opened in
the summer months to allow public access. Hours of operation are
generally from 10.00AM - 8.00PM. The Board contributes $2,700 to
the maintenance of these washrooms. With the new public
washrooms at the totem poles the clubhouse washrooms could be
closed to the public and the Board s maintenance costs
transferred to the new operation.
JUSTIFICATION
There is a need to improve the level of service at the Totem -3-
Poles. A new visitor centre would provide interpretation,
washroom facilities and an improved selection of food and gift
items for the general public.
There would be no addition to the number of buildings in Stanley
Park as the existing Carving Shed would be removed from the
Totem Poles site.
Prepared by:
Administration and Revenue Services Division
Board of Parks and Recreation
Vancouver, B.C.
PJ
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