Frequently Asked Questions.docx

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

RFB #27-565-20

Concessions for Yellowstone Lake State Park

For basic information see the zip file of photos of the former Dairy Stand that are attached to this RFP. See “Foot Print” document for dimensions/floor plan of the available building. See sample Concession Agreement Document

1. Does existing equipment come with the facilities.

Answer: A list of existing equipment is shown below. The Department owns the list of equipment below. The vendor is free to use the equipment and furniture below for the concession facility. It will remain the property of the Department so it may not be removed from the park. (See pictures attached to this RFP for additional details.) If you do not wish to use some or all of the equipment below the DNR will remove it from the building.

4 booths 8 tables 1 Ice-cream freezer 2 cooler/fridge (soda) 1- deep fryer 1 commercial grill 1 freezer 3 floor chest freezer

2. Is the Department leasing the building to interested parties that are going to run businesses out of the building? Can you provide more details on past concession services?

Answer: No. The department will not be leasing the building to the proposers. The Concessionaire agrees to pay a percentage of the gross annual revenues collected from this concession to the Department. These payments shall be made by April 1st of the following year. For purposes of this Agreement “gross annual revenues” are all revenues collected by the Concessionaire for sales of goods and services, rental of equipment, event fees, and booking of activities, excluding sales taxes collected.

The Department owns the building but currently no one operates in it. A half a century ago the Dairy Board started the concessions at Yellowstone Lake State Park. It started as a walk up too, carry out ice cream, soda and malt shop. They added on to the building and created a seating area and larger kitchen. There has been different operators/sub-contractors throughout the years. Most have provided some sort of family type restaurant. Ice cream has always been a big draw and money maker. Most successful operators have had specials like fish fries and Sunday breakfast. Currently there is not a breakfast restaurant near the park. Some small camp store items have always been offered. They have had issues finding an operator the last few years. The last operator mainly did only ice cream and had very limited hours. It seems the profit of the dairy stand have varied with what vendors offer.

Pre-COVID the dairy stand was run by the Bredeson’s. They were ranging from $105,000 to $120,000 gross. The last operator did not provide good records. They were default on payments and the year they did pay would have been for about $14,000 gross.

3. What is the period of the concessionaire agreement?

Answer: We are anticipating a three to five-year contract to start with although the proposer may propose a different period of time for the initial contract. We are allowed to enter into a term as short as one year and as long as 15 years. The end date of the contract will be December 31, 20XX. The terms of the agreement do allow us to renegotiate the exact period of the agreement.

4. Are there any required hours that the concession facility be in operation?

Answer: Seasonality? Minimum of labor day to memorial day - Spring and Fall. Open at least 24 hours Friday through Sunday?

5. Can we subcontract some or most of the work to a private business.

Answer: Yes, you may do so however you must provide information on the sub-contractor in your proposal for this project. If you wish to sub-contract with a different vendor during the life of the agreement you will be required to obtain written approval from the Department.

6. Can you provide examples of the end goal wanted for the facility?

Answer: Restaurant or Camp store, small convenience items, Ice-cream, Coffee, Baked goods.

7. Please list available facilities and amenities.

Answer: Water, bathroom, electric, heat and AC, holding tank, deck with lake view. The utilities including septic service are to be paid by the vendor. Faherty did the trash. Dan Hicks did the septic. Insight FS did the LP. Water is on a well. We will have the backup AC in within a couple of weeks. The air currently works but struggles when the kitchen is going and the temp reaches 90 degrees.

8. How many people have attended the park in the last couple of years?

Answer: Attendance numbers for the park (Monthly Format).

Yellowstone 2023

221,994

Yellowstone 2024

211,806

9. Who would unlock the building, who has access. If the concession business needs to enter the park during closed hours to address anything, could they? What about parking and entering the park for the concession employees?

Answer: The operators would have a key and be responsible for opening and closing. The operators could enter the park after hours if needed. The operator would have a “to be determined” number of parking passes so that the employees would not need to pay the park entrance fee. Concession staff would need to leave something on their vehicle’s dashboard (approved by Park staff) to identify their affiliation with the concession business.

10. Septic Tank Emptying Requirement: Does this need to be emptied by a specific company? What does this typically cost, and what frequency. Information on the location of the tank, which things in building connect to it.

Answer: It costs approximately $350 for a pumping. Dan Hick’s Septic has been pumping for years. When fully operational he would pump every 3 weeks. You are not required to use Dan Hick’s septic company if you wish to use an alternate vendor.

11. Will the vendor need to do basic lawn maintenance?

Answer: No, the Department will do the lawn maintenance.

12. How will waste be handled?

Answer: The concession vendor will need to rent a dumpster. Faherty did the dumpster in the past and does the park recycling and trash. You may use whichever waste company you wish to.

13. What kind of internet service is available and is Wi-Fi equipment currently on site?

Answer: There is no internet available. The DNR is looking at fiber optics being installed in June but the details are not complete.

14. Are there any goods or services that are excluded from the concession agreement?

Answer: Yes, bait, firewood and boat rentals are supplied by the Park’s Friends Group and the new concession contractor may not compete and sell those items and services.

15. Are cash sales allowed or do all transactions need to be processed through a credit card or debit card transaction?

Answer: Cash sales are allowed but are discouraged. It is preferred that cash sales be limited to special events or customer self-service sales (vending machines). The credit card machine/point of sale system shall be operated on its own wireless or cellular internet provided by the Concessionaire.