Commodore’s Log
October 2007

By Taggart Rogers, Commodore

As you may have already heard, changes are underway among the principal players in the ongoing Yacht Club/ARAMARK/Park Service moorage agreement love/hate triangle. First, your fellow boaters elected me to return as Commodore after an eighteen-month hiatus. Then, the ARAMARK Vice President in care of all Lake Powell operations, Gib Johnson, retired. Finally, the National Park Service Superintendent for Glen Canyon, Kitty Roberts, announced that she will retire in December.

Shortly after Ms. Roberts made her announcement, Tom Williamson, Chief of the Business Resources Division in the Intermountain Region headquarters for the National Park Service, telephoned me and apologized for his "late" response to my July 6 letter to the Region Director. Mr. Williamson asked for some additional detail regarding points I made in the letter, which I will provide in the next few days.

Your Vice Commodore, Mark Giebelhaus, and I met with Mike Walsh, the new Wahweap Marina manager. Mr. Walsh comes to us from a marina he managed in New Jersey, across the Hudson River from Manhattan. He has extensive experience with marinas on the East Coast and brings a different perspective to our lake. He discussed his plans to improve the physical condition of the marina and establish dock surveillance patrols to identify boats in slips where they do not belong. Of course, we also discussed the ARAMARK moorage agreement. Mr. Walsh was surprised to learn of certain terms that are incorporated into the agreement. For example, the prohibition from swimming or other water sports anywhere in the lake (specifically, within the "lake's channels," whatever that means). He indicated that the waiver of subrogation contained in the current ARAMARK moorage agreement is actually illegal in at least one state (Maryland) and that ARAMARK intends to issue another version of the agreement in January. He stated that he would be willing to meet with us to discuss the agreement language after Thanksgiving when things settle down at the marina. Most encouraging!

In the meantime, some of you may have received a letter from ARAMARK threatening to charge you the nightly moorage rate if you won't sign Version 9/06 of the ARAMARK moorage agreement. The stated reason is that without a signed agreement, ARAMARK has no basis upon which to charge you the monthly rate. Of course, without a signed agreement to pay the nightly rate, ARAMARK has no basis upon which to charge you that rate either. You cannot legally be required to sign an agreement that requires you to attest to facts that are untrue, provide documentation that is unobtainable, or abide by an NPS legal opinion that NPS will not provide. As long as you continue to pay the current monthly rate and abide in good faith by the terms of whatever agreement you have already signed, you cannot be required to pay some other rate until you sign a different agreement. You will find a letter that you can use to respond to any ARAMARK request to sign the Version 9/06 agreement on our website, www.lpyachtclub.org.

It is unfortunate that one or two individuals in ARAMARK'S middle management continue to make such threats, particularly knowing that the agreement is going to be revised again in a couple of months. It is fortunate that we have a great ARAMARK crew to work with down on the docks, as well as the many other ARAMARK employees who share our boaters' values.

We had an excellent turnout for our Labor Day event and the Oktoberfest. I look forward to seeing each of you at our Winterfest celebration Thanksgiving weekend. We will be serving chili, cornbread, hot mulled cider and coffee in front of the marina store. Donations will be appreciated and all profits will be turned over to GRIT, the Graffiti Removal and Intervention Team. All the food and beverages will be provided to us by ARAMARK, and we thank Dan Resmondo, the District Manager, for ARAMARK'S generosity.

We will continue to keep you informed through our website, this newsletter or by a separate mailing if necessary.

Taggart Rogers, Commodore