Renovations to convert the former Winthrop library building into the Chamber of Commerce’s Visitor Information Center are nearly complete.
Existing Riverside Avenue location likely to be closed
The Winthrop Chamber of Commerce is putting the finishing touches on its new Visitor Information Center (VIC), in the former Winthrop library building, and expects to open the facility soon.
Meanwhile, the chamber and Town of Winthrop are discussing options for the longtime VIC in the little red building at the four-way stop on Riverside Avenue, which may not remain open if it cannot be staffed.
At last week’s Town Council meeting, Mayor Sally Ranzau again raised the issue of staffing the existing site when the new VIC opens. She had earlier expressed a preference that both locations remain open while operations transition to the new site on Highway 20 at the west entrance to town.
The chamber has been renovating the building, and Executive Director Ted Lafferty said that the hope was to officially open it “any day now.”
The Town Council approved a budget expenditure of $20,000, which has been previously endorsed by the town’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC), to help cover the renovation costs for the new VIC. The LTAC funds will reimburse the chamber for funds it has spent at the VIC for construction work and furnishings.
In a memo to the council, Lafferty said the new location offers ample parking compared to the downtown site, and much more interior space including bathrooms.
“With the new [Kiwanis Club] family park and baseball diamond updates, the park, and restroom improvements to the Red Barn, this entrance to town is going to be a center of activity in the near future,” Lafferty said. “This, along with improved signage and other pieces to draw visitor in, we expect this new center to be far busier than the current model.”
“We are getting it ready for the next couple of decades,” Lafferty told the council.
Ranzau reiterated at last week’s meeting that she would like to see both locations staffed, or at least keep the current VIC open as a “brochure rack” even if not staffed, through this summer.
Council member Ben Nelson noted that the town’s contract with the chamber to operate a visitor information center is already in place, and the LTAC had declined to provide funds for staffing both sites.
“It’s the chamber’s call” as to whether it will staff both locations, Nelson said. Council member Bill McAdow agreed, suggesting that the old VIC have a sign directing visitors to the new one. “That’s where we want people to be going,” he said. Lafferty said that could be done.
If the current VIC isn’t staffed, Ranzau said, then it should be locked, as the town doesn’t have the staffing ability to look after it.
It may be possible to find volunteers to staff the old VIC in the future, Lafferty said.
