State senators hold open dialogue about state park businesses
November 28, 2019
THERMOPOLIS – On Thursday, Nov. 21, Wyoming State Senate Vice President Ogden Driskill (R-Devil's Tower) and District 20 Wyoming State Senator Wyatt Agar (R-Thermopolis) held an open discussion with Thermopolis residents and concerned customers of the Star Plunge and the Days Inn about Senate File 116.
According to Driskill, Senate File 116 was intended to nudge businesses to sign long-term contacts with the state in order to prevent the businesses from living on a month to month deal with the state, as the Star Plunge has been doing for the past eight to nine years. The owners of the businesses, Jim Mills of the Days Inn, and Roland Luehne of the Star Plunge, were in attendance at the meeting to hear the public comments and responses from the senators.
The file's intent is to encourage businesses on state park land to sign contracts longer than five years, so that they do not have to worry about the contract not being renewed each month. The Star Plunge and the Days Inn have been operating on a month-to-month basis since the initial 40- to 50-year contracts expired for the businesses.
"Part of the gossip and some of the campaigns and things you may have seen is that we are trying to run off the people that are there," Driskill said. "That is just simply not true; it does not do that at all."
Driskill brought up the reasoning that Chief Washakie gave the Hot Springs State Park land to Wyoming under certain conditions, and he believes that as a lawmaker for Wyoming that they have certain obligations to make sure the facilities uphold a certain standard.
The condition that Chief Washakie gave the state in the treaty was that the hot springs be a public place that anybody may attend for free, which is being upheld with the small state bath house in the park.
"The concessionaires (business owners) own their buildings, but not the ground underneath them," Driskill said.
Driskill drew applause from the crowd of concerned gatherers when he went on to say that he believes that Thermopolis is "one of the most special places in Wyoming," and that he would go to great lengths to try and help Thermopolis enhance their tourism and businesses in town any way that he can.
Driskill believes that the initial purpose of the 40- to 50-year contracts for the businesses was intended for the businesses being able to pay off the lease at a slower pace, and have the opportunity to grow and thrive under the longer leases.
This public discussion was brought about to answer questions from community members regarding common misconceptions about the bill, and to bring points forward to the senators as to why they believe that the facilities should not be put up for bid once the law goes into affect, Jan. 1, 2020.
Points were brought up regarding the Star Plunge being a well-kept facility as well as a destination for people all around the country, and even the world for tourists to come and relax in the hot springs on their way to Yellowstone.
One important point that Senator Agar brought up, is that the senators are not directly involved in the negotiations of the leases with the businesses, but rather the state parks and the executive branch are the primary negotiators with the concessionaires for the lease, and the Request for Proposals (RFPs) have been placed on the state parks website regarding these two businesses.
"The state parks [Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails department] have rolled out what they expect in a lease and what you are expected to go through to get a lease," Agar said.
With the current concessionaires being the only ones to place bids at the moment, according to Driskill, if they are eventually bid out by another business, the owners of the business will receive a payment for their buildings that have been appraised by the state, by the new concessionaire, and will not walk away empty handed.
According to Driskill, this is not a problem central to Hot Springs State Park, and there are other concessionaires around the state that operate on a month-to-month basis that they are trying to solve this problem with after the passing of the new law.
"I think you guys are looking at this in a bad way, this bill is to draw everybody in to contract and make everything legal," Sandy Driskill said. "Nobody is trying to take anything away or ruin anything."
According to the RFPs, the gross revenue for the Star Plunge last year was $680,000 and $2,300,000 for the Days Inn.
According to the RFPs posted to the Wyoming State Parks website, is Jan. 17, 2020, but Driskill and Hagar are unsure what they are going to do when the time comes for them to be submitted, as the RFPs were released late and there is such a small window to bid.
"It is time for a positive move one way or another," Ogden Driskill said.