County raises rates for long-term camping at the fairgrounds

Posted 9/21/21

It’s getting significantly more expensive to camp at the Park County Fairgrounds for an extended period of time.

Earlier this month, county commissioners did away with weekly and monthly …

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County raises rates for long-term camping at the fairgrounds

Posted

It’s getting significantly more expensive to camp at the Park County Fairgrounds for an extended period of time.

Earlier this month, county commissioners did away with weekly and monthly discounts for RV hookups and set a flat rate of $38.85 per day in the summer and $27.75 in the winter. Short-term campers won’t be impacted by the change, but weekly rates are rising 22.5-40% and monthly rates are going up 75-87.5%, depending on the season.

Commissioner Lloyd Thiel said he pushed for the change — not because he wanted to bring in additional revenue, but because he didn’t want the county government to compete with the private sector. The fairgrounds had been offering one free night per week or one free week per month and Thiel said he was not aware of any other campgrounds offering that steep of a discount.

“We’re one of the cheapest RV rental places in the county and that’s not right,” he said in an interview. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re undercutting [private campgrounds].”

The Park County Fairgrounds is currently the only location offering full RV hookups in Powell and it has seen a recent surge in popularity. In the fiscal year that ran from July 2020 through June 2021, the county collected more than $63,500 in camping fees (not including the fair). That was more than twice the revenue collected in the prior year. Since July, the county has already received nearly $24,000, said Park County Buildings and Grounds Superintendent Mike Garza, which is comparable to entire years in the not-so-distant past.

The fairgrounds has traditionally had a handful of people, maybe a half-dozen or so, who might stay through the summer. “But nothing like we’ve seen this year,” Garza said.

He said the jump can be attributed in part to an unusually busy tourist season, in which some travelers were unable to find RV spaces in Cody. Over the past year, there have also been construction workers helping to build a wind farm north of Frannie and others rebuilding the City of Powell’s electrical substation. Then there’s a Northwest College student and a few people who needed a temporary place to stay while they searched for property, Garza said.

“We had a lot more long-term [campers] this year than we’ve ever had in the past,” he said. “And that’s what made up a lot of that revenue.”

Garza suspects that the rate change will probably mean that few people camp at the fairgrounds over the winter.

“Luckily, we made it [the money] when we could … because I think it’s gonna be pretty slim pickings until probably May, when the tourist season starts picking up again,” he said.

Between the RV campsites and building rentals, the fairgrounds brought in about $88,750 in the last fiscal year, more than covering the $45,000 to $46,000 in annual utility costs for the grounds, according to budget figures provided by Garza.

However, for Commissioner Thiel, the real issue with the RV rates wasn’t about the dollars. In his view, the discounted rates have been making it less appealing for a private enterprise to start up a campground in the Powell area.

“Who wants to invest a couple hundred thousand dollars, half-a-million [dollars] in an RV camp and then have to compete at the prices that the county’s charging?” Thiel asked rhetorically. “I want to get our prices comparable to what is in the county.”

In the winter months (mid-October through mid-May), the county only offers electrical hookups and charges a cheaper rate of $27.75 a day.

Prior to last week’s change, a month’s stay cost $444 in the winter, but it will now cost $832.50. Meanwhile, summer camping at the fairgrounds is jumping from $666 a month to $1,165.50.

“We’ve already had a few cancellations of long-term camping,” Garza said Sept. 10. “People just aren’t happy, but what can I do?”

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