Aramark's new slip prices...

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Spent a hour in my congressman office. They were very surprised to hear of the Powell quagmire with Aramark. They too believe that the people's park should not be a "cash cow" for a concessionaire. They promised to get answers how Aramark not being under a signed contract can raise prices at will. My suggestion was just kick them out and have NPS run the whole lake as a not for profit. It will pay for all amenities and personal at a reduced price from what Aramark is doing.
 
I understand the frustration with North lake facilities. That is one of the reasons I moved to Wahweap. Services are better and it seems that Aramark is making a few albeit very few improvements. My issue is with the single concessionaire concept on "public" lands. I have long believed that should be a yearly or longer contract.
 
I am not in love with Aramark. And I think there is HUGE room for improvement with what they do.

I would really like to see one company manage Bullfrog and one manage Halls. Competition is good. But, due to economies of scale, I don't know that a company could be profitable doing that. Maybe I am wrong.

And, due to the capital investment into the rental boats, I don't think a short term contract.

My worry about the NPS running the concession is that I am of the opinion that government is rarely efficient or effective at running anything. I don't think this is any different.

Is there public record on which companies bid for the contract? When was the contract renewed? When is it up again? I wonder if any other concessionaires are even interested in the lake? If you figure $1000/month/slip, the cashflow has to be attractive.
 
Aramark doesn't have a contract, that is the problem. Parks service wants them out but the monopoly has gone on so long that they can't get it under control. They run it under an agreement. They do need to put it out for bid, and if they broke it up by marina I think they would have lots of bidders.
 
I'm wondering if the Arizona minimum wage hike has anything to do with this? Living on the 'border' in Utah I know it's affecting everything for us as we get a lot of our goods from Arizona & must compete with other businesses for employees, too.
 
PowellBride: I hear ya about vacation = Lake Powell. I think Ryan is right, too, that we are all in this thing for the long haul, regardless of the damage to our pocketbooks. The place is just too amazing...
 
I remember how bad things were towards the end of the Del Webb era of having the concession. You could barely walk the docks at Wahweap without tripping over everything that was falling apart!
 
I suggest everyone contact your congressman and senators and demand improvement to the people's park. Make it the people's park not Aramark's park
 
Well, I here there are some large lawsuits pending... could be that the insurance is going way way up ...

Also look for some new signs around the docks saying NO SWIMMING!
 
Steve Moore said:
Aramark doesn't have a contract, that is the problem. Parks service wants them out but the monopoly has gone on so long that they can't get it under control. They run it under an agreement. They do need to put it out for bid, and if they broke it up by marina I think they would have lots of bidders.
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My understanding (all unverified) is that the last time the park service put the Powell contract out for bid, there were no takers; at least from sources that were considered to have the economic capacity to take over. I also heard that as part of the contract the new vendor has to "purchase" existing assets (like docks) from the previous vendor and Aramark was pretty proud of the "assets" they had in place.
 
@Jackalope , the "no swimming" signs went up either in 2016 or 2015.

We also just got a letter that said they will be inspecting the shore (or dock in this case) power cords of the boats, and disconnecting any that do not meet their criteria.
 
PowellBride said:
My understanding (all unverified) is that the last time the park service put the Powell contract out for bid, there were no takers; at least from sources that were considered to have the economic capacity to take over. I also heard that as part of the contract the new vendor has to "purchase" existing assets (like docks) from the previous vendor and Aramark was pretty proud of the "assets" they had in place.
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I heard it the same way.
 
Some signs were up, but this year I believe they will be issuing tickets.
I know that some meetings were had and Aramark and NPS are now on-board with the shock hazard. <-- I got the comment that they were actually scared...

Last year I installed a ELCI ( Equipment Leakage Circuit Interrupters) safety breaker on the houseboat, I will explain that if needed but I don't want to drag this way off topic.
 
Since I am in the electrical business, I have been following electrocution deaths at marinas around the country. Most of the time it is due to an "electrician" not properly grounding the system when docks get moved or relocated. It is also becoming a problem in older swimming pools when the underwater lights are turned on, and the ground has become disconnected. The incidences of this are increasing every year.
 
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