FAQ about Visitor Services and the Centralization of Vernon Visitor Centres

http://www.vernon.ca/council/visitor_services.html
Excerpts below:
Why are we relocating to 39th Avenue?
Relocating and centralizing the Vernon Visitor Centre was identified in the 2010 – 2015 Vernon Tourism Development Plan that was created by our tourism industry and approved by City Council.
For the past year, staff, in conjunction with the Tourism Advisory Committee, have been actively examining locations in and around the City Centre to centralize and consolidate the Vernon Visitor Centres.
The criteria used to evaluate locations were:

Property and building owned by the City of Vernon, thereby providing cost savings compared to a purpose built building or leased facility.
Appropriate size for a Visitor Centre and a complementary use.
Easy access from Highway 97 and 27th Street with signals and dedicated left turn lanes at intersections.
Close to community amenities and within walking distance to retail, restaurants, hotels and open space.
Adequate and easily accessible parking available for vehicles, bicycles, travel trailers and recreational vehicles.
Preferably a permanent location.
The building located at 3004 39 Avenue is City owned and the size is adequate for the Visitor Centre and a complementary use. There is easy access from both Highway 97 and 27th Street and staff are working with the Ministry of Highways to provide an advance left turn signal on Highway 97 southbound. Paving and landscaping the adjacent space will allow for convenient parking and a space for pet relief.
The Civic Arena site has been identified as Parks and Open Space in the 2008 Official Community Plan. Should the Civic Arena be decommissioned, which may occur in the near future, the land adjacent to the Visitor Centre will become parkland making it a very inviting space. In addition, the completion of the 29th Street/30th Street upgrades would provide easy access to both downtown and the Village Green Mall.
Will RVs be able to easily access the new site?
The sani-dump is already located on the Civic Arena site, and is readily accessed by RV vehicles. This service will be retained on the site as an added convenience to our RV visitors.

What savings will be realized with this relocation?
Consolidating two centres would achieve cost savings in terms of operational and maintenance costs. Approximately $70,000 annually will be saved by only operating one centre. In addition, time currently spent travelling to/from the two sites for supervision, staffing and supply purposes can now be reallocated to online and marketing services and continuing to create our ‘virtual’ Visitor Centre presence online. The savings will be invested in new marketing initiatives to promote Vernon.

It is also noted that of the $292,000 allocated to refurbish the building and pave and landscape the surrounding area, $200,000 is from the MRDT Reserve Fund, which is comprised entirely of hotel tax dollars (i.e. no Vernon tax payers contributed to this). The remaining $92,000 is being reallocated from existing approved 2013 budgets where cost savings were realized.