City to study RV park

A firm from Gaylord will perform a feasibility analysis and preliminary design for a proposed Recreational Vehicle Park at the Wastewater Treatment Plant property in Rogers City. A request for proposals was sent out in February, with six proposals received and reviewed by a subcommittee of the Parks and Recreation Commission.

The commission voted to recommend members of the Rogers City Council give approval to Capital Consultants (CC) of Gaylord and Lansing, for their proposal of $4,700, which is nearly $3,000 less than budgeted.

?I THINK Capital Consultants is very qualified and they are doing quite a bit of work in the area,? said council member Deb Greene, who is a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission. ?They had the lower bid because they are in the area already.? City manager John Bruning said all six firms were ?very qualified,? but CC?s qualifications were ?among the best.?

Council approved the proposal with unanimous support. As many as 50 camping sites could fit into the area they are considering for an RV park, on the grounds of the wastewater treatment facility. City officials have said the RV park would be a good interim use of the property because it still needs to be available in case the treatment plant warranted expansion.

The Rogers City Parks and Recreation Commission recommended the study in order to plan future uses of the Lake Huron waterfront property.

CC has assembled a team to work with city staff to develop the RV park analysis and preliminary design. They have experience with the development of state park campgrounds for the Department of Natural Resources.

?THAT PROVIDES us with an extensive experience base from which to develop the preliminary design for the city?s RV park,? states CC?s cover letter, which was submitted with the proposal March 14.

?That does not mean a decision would be made until careful review and analysis,? said mayor Beach Hall of the go-ahead to construct a RV park. Final documents and presentation are expected from CC by May 31.

A cash flow analysis will take into account construction and design costs, projected revenues, financing costs, and operating costs, which would answer the question of whether or not the facility would be able to pay for itself. The summary of the feasibility assessment would include conclusions and recommendations from the firm regarding use of the property as an RV Park and the number of sites that could be constructed.