Park Service Incompetence

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Fresh water has been off for over 2 weeks on the covered slips at Bullfrog because Park Service "forgot" to send the samples of water for testing as required.
Then last Monday we went over to pump out our houseboat sewer tanks to work on them and only one pump was working, there was no flush water on the dump docks as well. It seems Park Service just hasn't gotten around to getting it done. What a bunch of hooey, to be nice, these are the most incompetent people ever. The buoys on the lake need attending to and none of them have been moved for over the last few years. The only thing I have seen them do is write tickets and check fishing licenses. When I asked a Park Service employee how long before fresh water was restored he about bit my head off. Who can we contact about this ridiculous service? I called Orin Hatch's office a few years ago to only be told what a rough time the Park Service and Aramark has getting supplies, etc. to the Lake Powell area. The Aramark service is going downhill also from what it was years ago.
 
March 14th we were grateful to find the Wahweap pump-out functioning, but disappointed to learn no flush water available.

Employee said they hadn’t de-winterized the lines yet. It was a hassle and a bit messy schlepping 5-gal buckets of lake water through the boat to dump down the toilet, but expected for the time of year.

With the weather warming, one would assume the pump-outs (at least at Wahweap) are fully functional now.
 
Should submit request for prorated credit against monthly/annual slip fee. Its a chunk of money to pay to not have services and only receive excuses!
 
The park service is responsible for the water samples, when not tested Aramark is instructed to turn off the water. Regulations require testing of the drinking water.
 
"A major funding issue for NPS is infrastructure reinvestment. The agency’s backlog of deferred maintenance and repairs for its infrastructure was estimated at $11.61 billion for FY2017." (https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42757.pdf).

"The Park Service is already grappling with underfunding, staff shortages and an $11 billion repair backlog, despite a 19 percent increase in visitors over the last five years." (https://www.npca.org/advocacy/21-support-increased-national-park-funding)

"The president’s budget proposes a drastic 16 percent cut to the Department of the Interior, which houses the National Park Service, and a cut of seven percent to the park service itself. In 2016, the national parks received record visitation rates of nearly 331 million visits." (https://thinkprogress.org/national-parks-trump-infrastructure-budget-f0530e5fa7c4/)

medium.com

In their own words: National Park Service explains impacts of crippling cuts in Trump’s budget

NPS’s own document spells out the devastating impacts this budget would have for our national parks
medium.com medium.com

"The Trump Administration’s FY 2020 budget proposes huge cuts across the federal government. It calls for a 14.9% cut to the National Park Service budget, when compared to the budget passed by Congress for FY19." (https://protectnps.org/2019/03/11/p...et-will-harm-national-parks-and-public-lands/)

Hope you asked the good Congressman Hatch to consider the facts. If the American public can't support NPS by getting it funded, ya can't complain.
 
The money is there - Lake Powell slip fee ( no competition - Aramark pays park service to be sole concessioner) is 3x more than similar slip fees at Cumberland lake and dale hollow lake ( widely considered the 2 best house boating lake in the US-- all the marinas at these lakes are businesses competing for your $$$) What the park service and Aramark do with that extra money is the question.
 
We were in Philadelphia yesterday and went to Independence Hall (It was pretty cool.) There must have been 30 employees. There were 8 people checking bags and manning a metal detector. Necessary I guess but they were protecting a perimeter of a single chain a child could step across. Wish they’d work at launching facilities.
 
davew said:
The money is there - Lake Powell slip fee ( no competition - Aramark pays park service to be sole concessioner) is 3x more than similar slip fees at Cumberland lake and dale hollow lake ( widely considered the 2 best house boating lake in the US-- all the marinas at these lakes are businesses competing for your $$$) What the park service and Aramark do with that extra money is the question.
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Your comment is illogical. You say "The money is there...", based only on a single data point, namely slip fees you consider to be too high based on comps from marinas on a single lake located across the country, approximately 1/3 the size of Powell and one that is managed by different agencies. Furthermore, without knowing what Aramark pays Glen Canyon NRA and without knowing where that money goes (many park fees go to the agency and are not retained in the park), your conclusions are inherently flawed.

My original post contained corresponding facts from different sources. An overwhelming amount of information is available regarding how underfunded NPS is and the impact this has on our parks. Why not post something factual we all can chew on versus specious, off the cuff statements?
 
buckin_ho said:
regarding how underfunded NPS is
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Whenever I hear a phrase like this regarding a government program/department. I can't help but wonder if there is a difference between "underfunded" and "overspending". Budget deficits are not a result of a lack of funding, but rather from spending more than you took in. The question becomes, "Where are our fees being spent, and are they being spent wisely/efficiently?"
 
Well buckin -- sorry you feel I am illogical.
The original post was questioning why the slips were not run properly -- why no water and why the pump outs were not working --- I have been dealing with the monopoly that is Aramark and the NPS for many years, and my OPINION is that they over charge for the service they deliver. The fee examples I used were for 2 lakes and approx. 6 marinas. I also have experience with other marina pricing in areas such as the great lakes, and in Missouri. Based on that experience, and examples I feel the slip fees are excessive, and the overall service is lacking.
You are welcome to disagree with my OPINION, but my question remains -- Aramark is charging significantly more than other marinas that cater to house boats --- what do they do with the extra money, and why do so many feel (my self included) the services are lacking?
 
davew said:
The money is there - Lake Powell slip fee ( no competition - Aramark pays park service to be sole concessioner) is 3x more than similar slip fees at Cumberland lake and dale hollow lake ( widely considered the 2 best house boating lake in the US-- all the marinas at these lakes are businesses competing for your $$$) What the park service and Aramark do with that extra money is the question.
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Double of Lake Mead
 
davew said:
Well buckin -- sorry you feel I am illogical.
The original post was questioning why the slips were not run properly -- why no water and why the pump outs were not working --- I have been dealing with the monopoly that is Aramark and the NPS for many years, and my OPINION is that they over charge for the service they deliver. The fee examples I used were for 2 lakes and approx. 6 marinas. I also have experience with other marina pricing in areas such as the great lakes, and in Missouri. Based on that experience, and examples I feel the slip fees are excessive, and the overall service is lacking.
You are welcome to disagree with my OPINION, but my question remains -- Aramark is charging significantly more than other marinas that cater to house boats --- what do they do with the extra money, and why do so many feel (my self included) the services are lacking?
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Not defending Aramark by any stretch but gotta wonder after all the bidding that has gone on over the years for the concession why is Aramark still the one who has it. If it was such a big money maker wouldn't someone have outbid them to take over. Understand I worked for them for over ten years and rarely agreed with the direction but loved the Lake and put up with alot to get my perks. The standing joke was that the lake was not to make money but to cater to corporate vacations. There is a huge amount of maintenance and other expenses to operate the concession.
 
Last time I knew it never came up for bid and the contract to Aramark was just extended at that time.

They cried duress because park visitor days were down at the time and they didn't want to have to bid during a down year.

Has there been a recent opportunity to bid?
 
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John P Funk said:
Whenever I hear a phrase like this regarding a government program/department. I can't help but wonder if there is a difference between "underfunded" and "overspending". Budget deficits are not a result of a lack of funding, but rather from spending more than you took in. The question becomes, "Where are our fees being spent, and are they being spent wisely/efficiently?"
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Budget deficits also result from cuts. Are fees (and tax dollars) being spent wisely? Let's start here: https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/fy2020-nps-justification.pdf
 
birdsnest said:
Not defending Aramark by any stretch but gotta wonder after all the bidding that has gone on over the years for the concession why is Aramark still the one who has it. If it was such a big money maker wouldn't someone have outbid them to take over. Understand I worked for them for over ten years and rarely agreed with the direction but loved the Lake and put up with alot to get my perks. The standing joke was that the lake was not to make money but to cater to corporate vacations. There is a huge amount of maintenance and other expenses to operate the concession.
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does anyone know who owns the infrastructure? I have to believe that Aramark owns all of the slips / docks/ stores / gas/ generators/ rental houseboats..... if that were the case, and new bidder I believe would have to purchase those items from Aramark --- if that is the case, how are they valued, paid for.... That could be part of the reason there has not been a new bid. Would love to know how the process works.
 
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