By Mike Gervais
Register Staff
7-11-2009

With approval from the Inyo County Board of Supervisors, Deputy County Administrator Chuck Hamilton is now seeking proposals for a concessionaire to manage operations at Diaz Lake in Lone Pine.
Board Chair and Third District Supervisor Beverly Brown abstained from the discussion on Tuesday because her family already operates four campsites for Inyo County, Brown’s Town and Millpond in Bishop, Glacierview in Big Pine and the Tecopa campground.
According to Hamilton, contracting with a concessionaire will save the county money and man-hours on maintenance projects at Diaz.

“Also, the recent concerns regarding the quagga mussels and boat inspections at Diaz Lake have only added to the demands of the parks maintenance system,” Hamilton said, adding that one of the interested concessionaires he has spoken about Diaz is already experienced with quagga mussel inspections.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has mandated that the county, or a concessionaire appointed by the county, inspect every motorized vessel that goes onto Diaz Lake for the invasive quagga mussels that could potentially kill off fish in the lake and, if they spread to other waters, cause millions of dollars worth of damage to LADWP’s infrastructure on local lakes and dams.
By hiring a concessionaire, the county will be able to kill two birds with one stone. Not only will the concessionaire be on hand to handle quagga mussel inspections, but the business will also be required to handle maintenance and improvements at the lake.
“A concessionaire-operated facility brings with it the finances to make needed facility maintenance upgrades and more importantly, to make major facility improvements,” a staff report states.
“The concessionaire would be required to demolish the older restrooms and construct new ones with showers,” Hamilton told the board on Tuesday.
The concessionaire will also be required to construct several new “pull through” camp sites with full hookups for trailers and RVs.
“These are among several costly improvement projects needed at Diaz Lake for which the county lacks the necessary funds,” Hamilton said.
First District Supervisor Linda Arcularius pointed out that concessionaires have the ability to raise costs, and the county has come under fire in the past for turning operations over to private businesses.
“Any concessionaire is going to have to spend at least $150,000 to complete the upgrades outlined in the request for proposals,” said Fifth District Supervisor Richard Cervantes, whose district includes Diaz Lake. “The county doesn’t have the kind of money that is needed to make Diaz a first-class camp site.”
Under any concessionaire agreement, county Parks and Recreation will retain the use and access to an existing shop building at Diaz Lake.
The county will contract with the concessionaire for five years with the option to extend the agreement for two additional five-year terms, contingent upon approval of the Board of Supervisors.
The concessionaire will be required to pay the county $8,500 a year or 12 and a half percent of the gross revenue, whichever is greater.
Hamilton said he hopes to have a concessionaire on board by next April, in time for the busy fishing season.