The city of Port Alberni has terminated the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce's contract to run the visitor centre, forcing the temporary closure of the centre and leaving the chamber scrambling to find funding.
Chamber CEO Jolleen Dick said the decision was made during an in-camera meeting of city council on Feb. 24, and the chamber received a letter shortly afterwards.
"They view it as a regional service and that we should apply to the regional district for funding from them," she said.
The chamber has been the sponsor organization running the visitor centre since 1983. "We've been the reliable partner for a very long time; we've been here since 1983 as a tourism bureau. We purpose-built this building in 2011 to welcome the world," she said.
The city and chamber signed a five-year agreement in 2018 for operation of the visitor centre; the agreement has been held over month to month since then, according to the city. In December the city gave the chamber 30 days' notice that they would be terminating the contract, and that happened as of Jan. 19, 2025, Dick said.
In a prepared statement provided to the Alberni Valley News, Mayor Sharie Minions said it is "crucial" to share the financial responsibility of the visitor information centre across the region "rather than placing the burden solely on city taxpayers.
"As a council, we are facing some of the toughest budget decisions we've ever had to make and we're not making them lightly," Minions said "But we believe that a collaborative approach to the Port Alberni Visitor Information Centre at the regional level is the best approach for the community."
City council has recommended that the chamber pursue funding opportunities "at the regional level," and that the city would fund its portion of any amount allocated by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. The issue was included in the agenda for the Monday, March 10, 2025 city council meeting, which took place after the AV News' print deadline.
While the chamber receives a variety of contributions to run the visitor centre, the city's portion has historically been $89,000 and the regional district has provided an additional $4,000, Dick said.
The visitor centre takes one full-time person to run; in addition to wages there is insurance as well as operating costs to consider. "We're not immune to inflation, like everybody else," she added.
She will be applying to Destination BC, a provincial Crown corporation, for a grant (they usually receive between $20,000 and $23,000 from this body). Until then, Dick isn't sure when they will be able to reopen the visitor centre doors. She said the closure is affecting one tenant in the building, while two others have separate entrances. The gift shop and public restrooms are also closed.
"We believe (the visitor centre) is a year-round service. It's not just visitors, we serve locals coming in for things like trail maps, lists of activities, etc. We can't open these doors independently right now."
