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Fort De Soto concessions streamlined

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published November 21, 2006

There will still be bicycles and canoes for rent, and hot dogs and cola for sale at Fort De Soto Park.

The change is that only one company will be managing all the different types of concessions at the park. Starting next month, smaller companies who for years have managed canoe, kayak, and bicycle rentals at Fort De Soto will have to take their business elsewhere.

Pinellas County Parks and Recreation Department officials say the change will make it easier for visitors to navigate the park and purchase goods because one entity will be in charge of everything.

For example, the food shack employees could tell a visitor how to rent a canoe and the guy renting the kayaks could point out where the vending machines are.

But some of the vendors who are getting ready to leave the park say they are worried the quality of services will suffer under this new agreement.

United Park Services Inc., the company that won a five-year contract from the county to manage all business endeavors at Fort De Soto, specializes in food services, not bike and canoe rentals, the smaller businesses argue.

"We understand rental business and making sure the quality of the bikes or whatever we rent is good mechanically," said Dave Cook, an owner of the Wheel Fun Rentals company, which has rented out different types of bikes at the park since 2004. "They are not going to look at this with as much detail as we do, just like I wouldn't be able to run a restaurant because that is not my expertise."

United Park Services was awarded a contract to manage concessions at Fort De Soto in July, after the county scaled back a controversial plan to expand services at the park that included a 225-seat restaurant and ice cream carts.

Environmental and community activists flooded the county with angry calls and said the park's draw should be the natural setting, not what visitors could buy.

United Park Services was chosen to be the contractor because it promised to keep services at the park simple, while also providing a high quality product and drawing more visitors to the area, said Lyle Fowler, an operations manager for the Parks and Recreation Department.

Since July, United Park Services has overseen everything at Fort De Soto but the canoe, kayak, and bike rentals, including the gift shop, chair rentals on the beach and food services.

Wheel Fun Rentals took care of the bike services, and for the past nine years, Canoe Outpost handled kayak and canoe rentals. Canoe Outpost is affiliated with similarly named outfits around the state with whom it shares a Web site, but all are individually owned.

By the end of December, both companies will be gone, according to the contract they signed with United Park Services in July.

The Apostolu family, the previous contractor of Fort De Soto, subcontracted services like bike and canoe rentals to other companies.

Mark Enoch and Alan Kahana, two Tampa businessmen who founded United Park Services earlier this year, said they wanted to be in control of all services at the park so that they could have more rental locations throughout Fort De Soto seven days a week.

They ordered new equipment, including 64 kayaks, and should start renting them out by the end of this month.

"Everything will be new and everything will be clean and pretty," Enoch said.

This is the first time either man will be dealing with bike and canoe rentals in their professional careers. Enoch has provided umbrella rentals at Sand Key Beach Park and food and beverage services for concerts and sporting events, including the Fourth of July St. Pete Celebration.

Kahana owned and operated restaurants in Tampa such the Castle and the Fly Trap Pool Hall.

Kahana and Enoch also have plans to upgrade the campground store trailer, remodel the pier, and offer ecotours of the park over the next few months. A new waterfront function room designed for birthday parities and weddings will open in December.

Since they started at Fort De Soto, United Park Services has earned more than $250,000 in gross sales, Fowler said. Last year, concessions in the park brought in only about $200,000 in the same period from July to September.

"I think it is more effective when you have got a single company that is ultimately responsible for everything," Fowler said. "The visitor might not notice, but there is going to be better quality."

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727-893-6181 or csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 20, 2006, 20:31:56]