Park concessionaire founders say Denver ended 21-year contract by email, leaving small business with losses

Gino Waszewski, founder of Wheel Fund Rentals, told the council that after operating boat- and bike-rental concessions in Denver parks for 21 years, his company received a four-sentence email in November saying the contract would not be renewed.

"Not a call, not a letter, not a meeting, but an email...and basically says at the end of this season, you're done," Waszewski said, describing the message from the parks department. He said the business had an "impeccable safety record," paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent and taxes over two decades and supplied summer jobs to local young people.

Josh Catron, who manages day-to-day operations and said he recently purchased a majority stake in the company, told the council Denver Parks and Recreation informed the firm in November that the concessionaire license would not be renewed. Catron said the company had made capital purchases (including replacement pontoons) and paid staff bonuses based on the expectation of renewal.

"Had they given us more of a heads up, we could have prepared financially," Catron said. "Instead, with no time to exit, we're being forced to offload and, in many cases, discard perfectly good equipment."

Both speakers said they proposed alternatives that would have preserved a partnership, but that Parks and Recreation declined and instead plans to operate the rentals itself. Waszewski said the department's decision felt like taking a successful concession "for no other reasons but besides they wanted it."

The speakers framed their remarks in economic terms: Wheel Fund Rentals said over 1,000,000 customers used its services across two decades and it paid more than $2,000,000 in wages to high school and college workers. Catron told the council the city's action eliminated the business' ability to capture value for its brand equity and goodwill.

The council did not take action during the public comment session. No city official supplied a reason for the nonrenewal on the record during the meeting; the speakers said they received notice only by email and not by meeting or phone call.

Next steps: the council did not respond from the dais during the session; speakers said they expect to seek follow-up from Parks and Recreation outside the public comment period.