Mozingo board discusses new plans for youth camp

During their December 19 meeting, members of the Mozingo Advisory Board discussed ways to increase the use of the youth camp.

Currently, the youth camp cabins have a 14 percent occupancy rate and the multipurpose building has an occupancy of 16 percent. Administration would like to see those numbers improve.

As it stands, policies relating to renting the area give preference to youth groups. The reservation policy allows a youth group to bump any reservation within 30 days of the event, potentially leaving the original party without a location on short notice. Members agreed that the policy may be a deterrent, causing the multipurpose building to not be booked for community events.

Discussion was held about changing the policy to only allow youth groups to bump reservations six months from the reservation date. Events booked less than six months from the event date would be guaranteed the reservation.

Administration is contemplating opening the cabins to the public for rental, allowing wedding parties, hunters, family reunions and more. The cabins are rustic, featuring bunk beds, air conditioning and heat. They do not have bathroom facilities, but all the cabins have access to shower houses. Guests would need to bring their own bedding and linens as none are provided.

The board considered the idea of offering the cabins for rental, but requiring users to pay a flat rate and reserve every cabin in the youth camp regardless of how many beds were actually used to ensure that only one group would be using the facility at a time. Assistant City Manager Ryan Heiland voiced concerns about renting the cabins to multiple groups at the same time due to the shared shower houses and close proximity of the cabins.

Discussion was held about changing reserved RV pricing at the campsite due to customer complaints.

No action was taken at the meeting. Heiland stated he would present all of the ideas and advice  in a detailed plan for them to review in January.