Story was inaccurate

From Daniel J. Stencil, executive officer of Oakland County Parks and Recreation:

I’m (writing) to clarify an article that ran in the Oct. 19, 2011 edition of the Spinal Column Newsweekly, “Parks panel mulls severing food and beverage lease.”

Specifically, the paragraph I’m referencing is, “The county’s Parks and Recreation Commission was slated to consider terminating Oak Management’s current lease agreement, which is slated to run through Dec. 31, 2015. According to a proposed resolution being weighed by the parks commission, if adopted, the lease agreement — most recently ratified in 2008 — could be modified to have Oak Management transition out of the lease as soon as Feb. 1, 2013, or as soon as a new agreement is approved.”

The above statement is not 100 percent accurate. The Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission is not looking to terminate the current contract of Oak Management at this time.

The parks system is currently working on a Concession Operation Request for Proposal (RFP) that will include Waterford Oaks Waterpark, Red Oaks Waterpark, Groveland Oaks Campground, Addison Oaks Campground and Springfield Oaks Golf Course. The RFP will be let out by Oakland County’s Purchasing Division in December. We anticipate a new contract will be in place by mid-March 2012 to being operations as each of above-mentioned facilities opens.

Additionally, the parks commission is looking to release an RFP for Approved Caterers to service its activity centers and picnic pavilions. The end result of this process will allow our guests a variety of vendors to choose from to meet their needs for food and beverage service for their special events and allow the county control over which vendors are operating in the parks system.

The final RFP will be for Banquet Services at Addison Oaks Conference Center, White Lake Oaks Golf Course, Lyon Oaks Golf Course and Glen Oaks Golf Course. This RFP will be released in 2012 and we expect a new contract will be in place in 2013. The new contract would not start until Jan. 1, 2016. Oak Management will be the provider of exclusive food and beverage service at those locations until Dec. 31, 2015. The current plan is for Oak Management to have the opportunity to bid on the RFP, just like any other catering vendor. The crossover time for the banquet services contract is to allow for a seamless transition for guests who want to book in 2013-2015 for parties that will take place at those facilities in the year 2016 and beyond.

Thank you for the opportunity to clarify our approach to securing three different contracts for the various types of food and beverage services to meet the needs of our guests.