City of Chelan Parks Department conducts market study
information and photos released by City of Chelan Parks Department, featured photo from LCN archives
The City of Chelan Parks Department conducted the first market study for its RV Park rates in over a decade. The study recommends a correction in 2023 to get rates more in alignment with market conditions. It is crucial that RV rates are set appropriately as profits from that enterprise pay for all other parks operations. The proposed rate increases would also help fund reinvestments within the RV Park to keep it a desirable resort location. Winter rates are set to remain low in order to accommodate local monthly rentals.
The market study was conducted in-house and looked at local competition, competition within other resort communities such as Bend Oregon and Lake Tahoe, and Zion River Utah. It also compared park rates with local hotel accommodations. The study looked at industry trends and demographics of the target market.
Profits from the increase will help fund reinvestments within the park, including new 50-amp electrical panels, extended asphalt pads to accommodate larger RVs, and new wayfinding signage. There is a laundry list of infrastructure components which are approaching obsolescence.
Profits from the RV park also fund all of Chelan’s Parks Operations and Maintenance for the entire park system, as well as downtown beautification projects, sidewalk and parking lot snow removal and downtown tree care. Unlike most communities which use taxes to support their parks system, Chelan relies on tourism to fund all parks operations and maintenance. Both state and national average cost recovery for parks departments is about 25%, whereas Chelan’s parks are around 100%. As such, the RV Park, and adjacent Don Morse Park, are important economic drivers for the community and keeps overall tax rates lower.
Park operations provide local jobs. In addition to a small core cadre of full-time employees, the parks system supports over fifty seasonal employees which form the backbone of our system. City Council approved wage increases for front line seasonal employees this year as the labor market is extremely tight. These increases reinvest in our human capital, our returning seasonal employees who groom the golf course, book people into the RV Park, or keep our parks clean, irrigated, and safe.
The 47% increase in rates is over the course of 2 years. There is a 7% increase in 2022, and a 36% increase proposed for 2023. Rates for 2024 will likely correlate with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at the time. While that sounds like a large increase percentage wise, the actual dollar increase is more meaningful. The Park’s Peak Season Summer rate, over the course of 2 years, would increase from $57 to $84 per night, which includes all state and local taxes. This base rate accommodates up to four (4) people. That breaks down to about $21/night per person, right on Lake Chelan with ready access to Don Morse Park amenities, and within easy walking distance to downtown bars, restaurants, and shopping.
The park has long served as a reasonable place for monthly rentals during the winter season. Rates for our winter season, which mostly serves locals, were kept low to continue to serve this community function.
Chelan’s Parks Director Paul Horne: “The RV Park is such an important asset for the city, and it is run with the same fiscal responsibility of any other enterprise. The difference with a public entity is that the community taxpayers are the shareholders and beneficiaries. The park provides local jobs, funds all parks maintenance throughout the system, subsidizes downtown beautification efforts, drives economic development, and makes Chelan a healthier place to live while increasing our quality of life. Setting the rates within the perfect ‘Goldilocks Zone” is not a decision which is taken lightly.”
Horne continues: “We recently commissioned an economic impact study for the golf course that showed that it was responsible for almost 17 million in direct and indirect economic activity for the Chelan Valley. While we’ve not done a similar study for the RV Park, we can comfortably assume that its economic value to our community is of a similar scale.”
Shari Dietrich, a new Chelan City Councilwoman, who initially had some concerns now feels as though the proposed rates are appropriate: “As a new council member during my first meeting when I learned the Lakeshore RV Park was going to increase their nightly rates I was surprised by the increase and immediately thought some were too high. Since then, I have met with Paul, talked to him on the phone a few times and did some research on my own. To start with, the work the park staff presented to city council was very informative and thorough. Our RV Park’s current rates are much lower to comparable parks in and out of our region. The new rates include all taxes and fees. The income from the RV Park funds many other things in our town core which taxpayers fund in other communities. I originally thought people wouldn’t come because the site fees were too high, but the weekly fee increase is an average of about $140 for a non-premium site. I also think some camping families will grumble at the increases but when they learn of planned RV Park improvements and see continued upgrades, they will be okay with the new rates. I also know how hard it is to get a site in our park and how long the waitlist is. We won’t have any empty sites, I’m sure.”
