Delaware State Parks is proposing fee increases and asked my input

Yesterday, some folks from the parks office called and asked for my thoughts. Sooo… here they are.

If you want to make more money, there are a few things you can do. First and foremost, start running these parks like a business. If I ran my business the way these parks are run, I’d be out of business within a year. There are people who go to school specifically to learn how to manage operations like this—start there.

Second, your “entry fee” is essentially a parking pass. Anyone can walk or ride a bike into a park for free. Maybe it’s time to start charging everyone. If there are four people in a car, that should be four entry fees—not just one parking fee. Right now, I can drive in with one person or ten and pay the same price. And if I have a season pass, everyone with me gets in free.

I remember hearing that about ten years ago, over 100,000 bicycles came through Cape Henlopen alone. That’s potentially $500,000 in missed revenue. In the business world, we call that money left on the table. Yes, charging more people may create longer lines and more work—but in a real business, when demand increases, you hire more staff to handle it.

Third, rumor has it that a bait shop is paying only $500 a month in rent. That’s $6,000 a year for a commercial business on Route 1, almost on the beach, inside a state park. Even more surprising, this business doesn’t fall under the RFP and isn’t paying the 20% revenue share to the parks—just rent. That’s some of the most valuable commercial real estate on Route 1. I know shops paying over $10,000 a month in rent—that’s $120,000 a year, not $6,000.

Finally, the pier needs replacing. The word is that the parks’ agreement with the pharmaceutical company hasn’t been renewed in a long time. That company is supposed to pay for half of any maintenance on the pier. If it were me, I’d approach them and ask them to cover the entire cost of a new pier. It would probably be cheaper for them than continuing to spend millions every few years on temporary fixes. A new pier would attract more anglers—and more revenue.

None of this is hard. It just requires a little more effort.

That’s just my opinion—but hey, I’m just a dumb fisherperson.

Wednesday (today) 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at Cape Henlopen State Park in the officers club there is a workshop or presentation on these fee increases.

Surf tags, I was told, will not be effected I was told. However there is some interest in maybe getting rid of what we call the peasant tag, aka the off season. Since the removal of reservations on some beaches. If you can’t attend one of these workshops just call your state reps.

The fee breakdown. Notice they state vehicle not person. Because it is a parking fee.