Reason Foundation

California Issues RFP for Private Operation of 5 State Parks

Leonard Gilroy

California State Parks has issued a new request for proposals (RFP) seeking a five-year concession contract (or contracts) to operate campground and day use recreational areas at five park units in the Central Valley. This is the first serious and robust parks PPP procurement of its kind at the state level.

Baltimore Continues Pursuit of Private Partnerships for City Rec Centers

Harris Kenny

Mark Reutter of The Baltimore Brew reported today that a second RFP was issued Friday December 2 identifying 18 specific rec centers for private operation. This second RFP represents a modest scaling back of Rawlings-Blake’s pursuit of PPPs for city rec centers.

Los Angeles Times Supports State Parks PPPs

Harris Kenny

This weekend the Los Angeles Times editorial board published a piece entitled “Keeping All State Parks Open,” supporting public-private partnerships (PPPs) to save California’s state parks. The piece identifies and endorses two existing successful policies, cause marketing and whole park concession agreements, that California State Parks Director Ruth Coleman is considering expanding to save California's state parks.

State Parks Fall Prey to MN Government Shutdown

Harris Kenny

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Minnesota’s state government is shutting down after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement last night. The Duluth News Tribune provides an exhaustive list of what’s open and what’s not during the shutdown and the paper reports “state parks, state forest campgrounds and state rest areas (are) all closed.” This outcome should sound all too familiar to parks advocates.

Closing CA Parks Proving Costly

Harris Kenny

Paul Rogers of the San Jose Mercury News reports that California Governor Jerry Brown’s plan to close 70 state parks is more costly and complicated than originally expected. Complications specifically arise from a state law mandating residents have access to coastal areas and from the burden of keeping residents out of shuttered parks.

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