The 18-site city campground is located off of New Lane Road, just past the back entrance to the rodeogrounds.
It’s on city-owned property, and last year Oakley made about $4,500 from campers, who currently pay a $25 per night fee. Now realtor and recreation business owner David Diehl is asking to lease the property this year for $7,000.
At the city council meeting April 10, members of the council and city staff said campground management and marketing hasn’t been a priority.
Diehl believes he can make the campground more profitable by taking over management and marketing. He’d collect camper fees and pay for improvements.
Among Diehl’s proposed improvements are a few new tent sites, a 24-hour hotline for emergencies and daily check-ins by management staff he’d hire.
Diehl operates Oakley Rentals, which supplies paddle boards and kayaks to people recreating in the Uinta Mountains. He said rentals would be available to campers on site.
“At this point, everything's a test case,” he told the council. “Does this work? Does it make sense? We start out with one [year] and see how it does.”
After one year, he proposes he and the city reevaluate and potentially renegotiate the lease. Mayor Zane Woolstenhulme asked him to “open the books” at that point, and Diehl agreed.
In year two, Diehl envisions installing “glamping” cabins with small kitchens, sleeping and living areas. If the venture fails, he said the cabins are not permanent.
“They are removable,” Diehl said. “So if they wanted those out of there, we could just sell them, get rid of them, move them. Whatever we needed to do.”
The only permanent change he’s proposing is a berm on the campground’s west side for neighbors’ privacy. It’s a suggestion borne out of conversations Diehl said he’s had with those residents.
Councilmembers said there have been problems with unhoused people staying at the campground for extended periods of time.
Diehl wants to keep the campground open through the winter, and he said he could prevent unauthorized camping with daily check-ins and increased rates.
He’ll study nearby campgrounds’ best practices.
“If this goes well, I'd love to have a campground host that's there full time,” Diehl said, “like every other campground does.”
Diehl had hoped to take over the campground as soon as May 1, but the council didn’t say yes or no at its April 10 meeting.
Mayor Woolstenhulme suggested consulting the city attorney in case Oakley needs to issue a request for proposal before leasing the campground, and to review any potential liability issues. Diehl may also need to buy his own insurance for the campground.
The matter will be scheduled for possible approval at a future city council meeting.
