Date: September 23, 2008
Contact: Nancy Gray, (865) 436-1208
National Park Service Southeast Regional Director David Vela has announced that National and State Park Concessions Riding Stables, Inc. has been selected to operate the Cades Cove Riding Stables under the terms of a new 7-year concession contract, effective January 1, 2009.
The services provided under the new contract will include guided horseback rides, carriage rides, hayrides, vending machine sale of soft drinks and bottled water, limited souvenir sales, and souvenir photography. The new contract will require some enhancements to the services offered at this concession and the facilities. For example, the concessioner will provide educational information related to natural and cultural resources as part of guided horseback rides, carriage rides, and hayrides. The fall operating season will be extended several weeks to at least November 30. Horse drawn equipment rather than motorized vehicles will be used to do most trail maintenance work and some pasture maintenance work. Barbed wire fencing will be removed and will be replaced by barbless wire fencing and fencing will be moved further from streams to help protect water quality. The concessioner will also offer two new services authorized by the new contract – limited souvenir sales and souvenir photographs.
Jack E. Bobo, Jr., the President of National and State Park Concessions Riding Stables, Inc., is also managing the Cades Cove Campground Store operation since April 2008 under the terms of a new contract awarded in February 2008.
Bobo has provided various concession services at several Florida State Parks and Reserves during the previous 19 years. This includes the operation of Rock Springs Riding Ranch in Rock Springs Run State Reserve in Sorrento, Fla. since May 2003. "This new concession contract includes several elements from Jack Bobo’s successful proposal for this contract that will be good for the Park and its visitors. With his prior experience in providing a variety of concession services at other parks, we are confident that Mr. Bobo will do a good job with this important concession at Cades Cove," said Vela.
With the award of this new concession contract, the Cades Cove Riding Stables, Inc., managed by Hugh Myers, President, will conclude 42-years of service to Park visitors. Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson noted, "Hugh Myers and his family have provided quality services at Cades Cove Riding Stables since 1967 and the Myers family also has a unique role in the history of Cades Cove as residents of the Cove prior to the Park’s establishment. We greatly appreciate the services that Hugh Myers has provided to several generations of visitors who have benefited from his operation over the years. The National Park Service has enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the Myers family."
The National Park Service (NPS) began soliciting proposals in September 2007 from prospective concessioners through the issuance of a prospectus that described the terms and conditions of the concession contract and the procedures to be followed in the selection of the best proposal. The proposal submitted by National and State Park Concessions Cades Cove Riding Stables, Inc. was one of several proposals received by the NPS in response to this solicitation, including a proposal from the existing concessioner, Cades Cove Riding Stables, Inc. Prior to award of the concession contract and with the approval of the NPS, Bobo changed the name of his corporation to National and State Park Concessions Riding Stables, Inc. This change was made in response to a request from the existing concessioner to avoid any confusion with the corporate name of the existing concessioner.
The selection of a concessioner to operate the riding stables is the result of a competitive process that is required by the National Park Service Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-391). A team of experts convened by the NPS Southeast Regional Office analyzed the proposals received based on criteria specified in the Act. Those criteria include protecting and conserving Park resources, providing necessary and appropriate services to the public at reasonable rates, the experience of the concessioner, the financial capability of the concessioner, and the proposed franchise fee.
Cades Cove Riding Stables, Inc. will continue to operate the stables through the end of this season in early November under the terms of the existing concession permit.
