CANYON FERRY RESERVOIR — Canyon Ferry Reservoir is managed by the Bureau of Reclamation — it then sets up 20-year concession contracts for some of its properties around the reservoir.
Kim’s Marina is one of those contracts, which is expiring at the end of this year.
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Beginning in 1972, some people had seasonal leases on mobile homes and trailer spots that allowed them to keep them throughout the summer. Many would then park their trailers at Kim's during the winter and then hook back up to services the following summer. Those services are part of the issue now facing Kim's Marina and its seasonal residents.
The Bureau of Reclamation or B.O.R notified all residents back in August that it was not seeking another concessionaire at the end of the year.
“We made the decision to pause that process and not solicit a new concessionaire contract for a period of time so we can go on-site and address some public health and safety issues we’ve identified.”
Ryan Newman is the B.O.R Montana Area Manager and he says that’s why all seasonal users are being told they must be out by the end of the year.
As for the seasonal users, some of who’ve been staying at Kim’s Marina every summer for decades says the closure is forcing them to lose family members.
"We’re losing our recreation but we’re losing a piece of our family," Kathleen Vaughan said.
She has joined a coalition of seasonal residents looking to see if they can stop the full closure of the marina.
Wade Johnson has been staying at Kim's, with his wife Regi for the past 24 years. They say it’s not camping; it’s home away from home.
“People know your kids, people keep your kids accountable, they know your dogs," Johnson said.
Regi’s family used to own one of the 12 mobile homes in the marina, she’s been at Kim’s since the 1980’s.
“We meet people from different parts of the lake that come to the store that come down and use the beach,” she said.
The seasonal residents and coalition members are concerned Kim’s Marina will end up like the nearby Goose Bay, which the B.O.R closed in 2014 for repairs and reopened two years later without seasonal opportunities.
B.O.R’s Newman says what the future holds for Kim’s will be in the hands of a new concessionaire when the renovation work is done.
“I suspect it’s going to probably be pretty similar to what we’ve seen, you know there’s going to be seasonal camping, and day camping, and day use, and that bay is absolutely ideal for a marina,” Newman said.
He also says the store, fuel, and laundry services at Kim's is something that’s very important when it comes to seeking a concessionaire proposal.
B.O.R says during the renovation stages, the marina will remain open with there being a possibility of limited 14-day-use camping in one or two of the current loops. However, all personal items at the seasonal trailer spots will have to be removed by the end of the year.
Newman says the B.O.R is going to meet with each of the 12 mobile-home owners to work out removal of their properties, since those trailers cannot simply be towed out to another camping area.
Kim’s is named after a little girl who passed away when she was just three, making it a family matter when it first opened. Many of the seasonal residents now being forced to leave say it’s still a family matter, but the B.O.R. is separating them from their family members.
