Operators changing at Seven Bays Marina
A slow time of the year is even quieter at the popular Seven Bays Marina on Lake Roosevelt.
The Colville Tribe has not renewed its contract with the National Park Service to operate the facilities for 2006 and the transfer of assets has not yet been completed with Dakota Columbia Rentals, so far the only candidate to become the new concessionaire.
Meanwhile, the boaters who rent the 170 boat slips at the marina are wondering why they haven’t received their annual renewal notices.
“Normally we get a letter and pay our deposits in February, but we haven’t heard anything and nobody’s answering the phones,” said Kevin Hill, noting that fewer than a dozen fishing boats are moored at the facility during winter.
“It took me years to get the slip I have,” said Dave Sandvig who moors a 24-foot boat during summer in the only covered dock at the marina. “Nobody has a clue about what’s happening.”
The marina is important to other boaters, too, since it has the deepest boat ramp on the lake, allowing boaters access during reservoir draw downs.
“Our greatest desire is that this transfer happens quickly and we put their minds to rest,” said Debbie Bird, superintendent of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. The new concessionaire will be in charge of assigning slips, but the records cannot be transferred until the two concessionaires negotiate transfer of property such as docks and propane tanks, she said.
The transfer should be compete in early March, she said, noting that The Park Service expects to issue a Dakota Columbia a temporary three-year contract before negotiating a long-term 10- to 15-year contract.
The Park Service has guidelines for costs that prevent concessions from raising prices dramatically, she said.
The RV campground at Seven Bays is separate from the marina and will continue to be operated by the Colville Tribe, Bird said.
A spokeswoman from the Spokane Tribe’s Roosevelt Recreation Enterprises said they did not renew their concession at Seven Bays in order to consolidate their operations down the Columbia at Keller Ferry.
Roosevelt Recreation Enterprises rents a fleet of 30 houseboats.
Dakota Columbia Rentals, owned by Lyle and Laurel Parker of Spokane, also rents houseboats and has operated out of Two Rivers Resort on the Spokane Arm since 1997. The company started operating at Lake Roosevelt at Kettle Falls in 1989.
“We’ll continue operating out of Two Rivers, but we’ll eventually move our headquarters to Seven Bays,” Lyle Parker said.
“We can’t do anything about renting slips until we get the records, but we’re keeping the names of people who would like a slip here. Normally, there’s some turnover at marinas each year.”