Park County staff propose campground host and livelier job postings to curb unpaid camping at fairgrounds

Morgan, a fairgrounds staff member, told the Park County Commission on Feb. 12 that informal or overnight campers who do not pay are costing the county roughly $6,000–$7,000 a year and described recent instances when staff caught unpaid campers.

“We lose around 6,000 to $7,000 a year on it,” Morgan said, and described one Saturday sweep that turned up three campers “that hadn't paid for camping.” Morgan proposed hiring a seasonal campground host—potentially a contracted attendant who could stay in a camper overnight during rodeo and event periods—to record license plates, check permits and provide customer service to legitimate campers.

Commissioners said the idea was worth exploring. One commissioner praised the campground-host suggestion as a promising approach for revenue protection and volunteer opportunities; another asked staff to check whether hosting arrangements would require additional lease or building approvals. Staff agreed to consult with Mike (county staff) about any permitting or lease implications and to draft sample job descriptions and contracts based on models from other counties.

Morgan also asked whether staff could be allowed to make modest, non-substantive tweaks to job-posting language on aggregator sites such as Indeed to improve visibility and applicant interest—examples included stronger opening paragraphs or friendlier headers while not changing formal job qualifications. Commissioners supported investigating that option and suggested coordination with Marissa, who works on postings.

Next steps: staff will check legal/lease constraints for a campground host arrangement, compile example job descriptions and return to the commission with draft language and contract models for future consideration. The commission did not vote on the proposal at the Feb. 12 meeting.