SWAN VALLEY - Permit agreements between the Forest Service and concessionaires at the Holland Lake Recreation Site outline expectations of site management, maintenance and contract extensions.
This past May, community members attended a Swan Valley Community Council meeting after receiving news of the concessionaire’s plans to phase out community day-use passes to the Holland Lake Recreation Complex by 2020.
The decision to provide the Swan Valley Community Foundation with 200 passes this summer and none in 2020 was made in a private meeting between the concessionaire, Parting Waters Adventures, Inc., and the United States Forest Service. The community foundation was not invited. Swan Lake District Ranger Chris Dowling was in attendance to take the communities questions. There was not a representative from Parting Waters Adventures, Inc. at the meeting.
The Pathfinder made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents concerning the concessionaire agreements with Barta Enterprises, Inc. and Parting Waters Adventures, Inc. at the Holland Lake Recreation Complex following a Swan Valley Community Council meeting this May.
The original concessionaire permit was issued to Barta Enterprises, Inc. on March 2013 and was set to expire at the end of 2017. According to Downling, Barta Enterprises, Inc. sold its concessionaire operations to Parting Waters Adventures, Inc. in August 2017. The original concessionaire permit was then transferred to Parting Waters Adventures, Inc. and then extended for an additional five years through an amendment made Dec. 12, 2017. The permit is now set to expire at the end of 2022.
“When the concessionaire company was sold, the special use permit transferred with it. Since it was near the end of the five year term and satisfactory performance was sustained, the authorized official extended the term for the additional five years as allowed under the terms and conditions of the permit,” wrote Dowling in an email. “No public notice was provided.”
The concessionaire permit states that it is not renewable and that a continuation of the permit can be made at the discretion of the authorized officer. An authorized officer is defined by the permit as “the Forest Supervisor who issued the permit or a delegated subordinate officer.” Although the permit cannot be renewed, it can be extended up to five years by an amendment “at the sole discretion of the authorized officer based on sustained satisfactory performance or administrative need.”
According to the concessionaire permit, amendments are permissible and may be made by the Forest Service “when at the discretion of the authorized officer such action is deemed necessary or desirable to incorporate new terms that may be required by law, regulation, forest land and resource management plans or other management decisions.” The contract does not define what a management decision is.
According to Dowling, the concessionaire can choose to offer discounts to groups but the Forest Service cannot amend the permit to require Parting Waters Adventures, Inc. to offer discounted day use passes to the Swan Valley Community Foundation.
The concessionaire permit issued to Barta Enterprises, Inc. does not include the annual day use pass agreement with the Swan Valley Community Foundation. Instead, it was defined in the 2017 Annual Operating Plan. The Pathfinder received Barta Enterprises, Inc.’s Annual Operating Plan for 2017 and Parting Waters Adventures, Inc.’s Annual Operating Plan for 2019 in the FOIA request.
According to the concessionaire permit, the annual operating plan specifies the “operational requirements governing the sites covered by [the] permit.” These plans must include how the concessionaire will provide services to the public, protect public health and the environment, as well as how the concessionaire will repair, enhance and maintain the site.
The 2017 Annual Operating Plan for Barta Enterprises, Inc. stated that the Swan Valley Community Foundation would pay $600 to the concessionaire in order to purchase annual passes for the Condon area community members. The operating plan does not provide a number for how many day -use passes the $600 would cover for the community.
Despite what the operating plan stated, the Foundation explained at the May meeting that they have paid the concessionaire $500 for 300 passes since Barta Enterprises, Inc. began implementing day use fees at the recreation site in 2015.
The 2019 Annual Operating Plan for Parting Waters Adventures, Inc does not mention that the Swan Valley Community Foundation is expected to pay $500 for 200 passes, nor does it include the plan to completely eliminate the discounted passes by 2020.
“Parting Waters Adventures did provide the same discount as Barta Enterprises in 2018 but began looking at changes in 2019,” wrote Dowling in an email.
Several community members at the May Council meeting expressed their frustration concerning potholes in parking lots and the inoperable boat launch, all problems they argue haven’t been addressed since day use fees were implemented at Holland Lake in 2015. Dowling explained that money made at the concessionaire sites is allocated for general campground maintenance, as well as compensating the concessionaire.
The concessionaire permit states that “the [concessionaire] shall maintain all equipment and other facilities on site in good repair.” The permit also defines acts of maintenance, improvement and reconditioning/renovation. Maintenance is defined as an action taken “to keep fixed assets in acceptable condition,” whereas improvement is defined as “advancing a fixed asset to a better quality or state,” it also includes replacement. Reconditioning and renovation is “a type of maintenance that rehabilitates an existing fixed asset or any of its components in order to restore the functionality or life of the asset.” The boat launch is included in the inventory of facilities for the Holland Lake Recreation Complex.
According to the operating plans for both Barta Enterprises, Inc. and Parting Waters Adventures, Inc., they are “responsible for all tasks associated with the daily operation and maintenance of the campgrounds,” and that their employees “will ensure that all facilities are clean and well maintained.” This includes vehicular and pedestrian access and filling potholes.
“Fixing potholes in parking lots are the responsibility of the concessionaire for parking lots within the permit area and part of the recreation site. The work needed for the boat launch is greater than the maintenance responsibility of the concessionaire,” wrote Dowling in an email. “We are currently developing options to address the day use fee concerns and site improvement needs identified by the community at the public meeting. I hope to finish fully developing them in the next couple weeks.”
Reader Comments(0)