Concessionaire considers moving out of aging office building in Mancos

Concessionaire considers moving out of aging office building in Mancos

Sept. 30, 2000

By Tom Vaughan
Mancos Times Editor

The Mesa Verde Company, now part of the large ARAMARK managed-services corporation, has been a Mancos-based concessionaire at Mesa Verde National Park for decades.

Now, according to Regional General Manager Dale McFarland, the company faces a decision about whether to invest more heavily in its Mancos property or look elsewhere for corporate space.

McFarland said the immediate problem is the condition of the Mesa Verde Company’s headquarters building at 109 S. Main in Mancos.

The building dates back at least to the late 1920s, according to former Mesa Verde Company executive Bill Winkler. It has gone through a number of remodelings and changes in function since it was built.

Electrical problems noted in a building inspection within the last five years have been corrected, McFarland said, but when the company tried to stop leaks in the roof when the late summer monsoons began, they found they had to get into the sub-roof.

During Mancos Building Inspector Mel Heath’s inspection "to determine if the structure was sufficiently sound to receive a re-roof, as required by the Uniform Building Code, I noticed some structural defects that seriously concerned me," Heath wrote in a Sept. 7 letter to McFarland.

The letter further stated that the company needed to take action on the problems within 60 days after the date of the letter.

"Safety and security is our No. 1 concern," McFarland said, and the Mesa Verde Company is engaging a structural engineer to assess the problems and present options.

McFarland and his staff have met with Heath and Town Administrator Tom Glover. At the same time, McFarland acknowledged, "We’ve wanted to expand our reservations office," and the company has given consideration to retail shop space.

When the structural engineer’s report is in, the company has to decide, McFarland said, whether it’s more cost-effective to remodel the old building or to build or relocate to a more suitable structure.

"Our first priority is to stay here in Mancos," McFarland said.

However, he said, if remodeling is too costly, the company will be considering building on the existing site on South Main, relocating within Mancos, building on ARAMARK-owned land at Point Lookout (across from the national-park entrance) or moving to Cortez.

The Mesa Verde Company employs 25 year-round staff, expanding to 240 employees at peak season, all hired and paid through the Mancos office.

"Half of our full-time staff is from Mancos," McFarland estimated, adding that the Mancos-based operation is a "great place for us to train career employees," for ARAMARK.

While the company does not currently have a retail outlet generating sales-tax revenue in Mancos, the payroll adds to the local economy.

McFarland said all of the company’s vehicles are gassed in Mancos, and the staff and business visitors frequently dine in Mancos eateries. In addition, the company aggressively markets Mesa Verde nationally and internationally as a tourist attraction.

ARAMARK is uncertain about more than just the findings of the structural engineer. As a national park concessionaire, the company has to periodically compete for the exclusive contract to provide services within Mesa Verde National Park.

That time of renewal is coming up soon, McFarland said, and it will be in a new format the National Park Service is trying out in eight major parks, including Grand Canyon.

The company might prefer to wait to make a decision until it knows whether it has a new multi-year contract with Mesa Verde National Park.