Bus restoration an issue in Glacier Park contract

Champions of Glacier National Park’s historic red buses are concerned after plowing through the inch-thick prospectus package for the main concessions contract for the park.

The prospectus “business opportunity” section requires bidders to restore a minimum of 15 red buses in the 33-vehicle fleet over the 16-year span of the next concessions contract.

Leroy Lott, a Texas resident who was a “jammer” bus driver in 1959, wonders what will happen to the remaining 18 buses — and he has plenty of questions about the rationale for excluding them.

“I have a lot of concerns about it,” said Lott, recalling how the fleet was pulled off the roads in 1999 after structural problems were detected in several buses.

“Once before, the media, the public, gear jammers and former employees of Glacier banded together and reversed what was going to be a decision to go with new buses instead of rehabilitating buses.”

What happened instead was the Ford Motor Co., working with the National Park Foundation, stepped forward to restore the entire fleet at a cost of about $6.5 million. The revamped buses were back on the park’s roads in 2002.

Ray Djuff, who has written several books about Glacier, also is paying close attention to the red bus provisions in the prospectus.

He and Lott recall that when the buses returned in 2002, there was a general impression that the buses would be capable of lasting for decades, just as they did prior to Ford’s restoration project.

“When they came back from their rehabilitation by Ford, it was seen as a hallmark event to keep the buses in service for decades to come,” Djuff remarked. “The proposed contract would appear to mark the eventual demise of this heritage property. Without public consultation! Who came up with this idea?”

Djuff and Lott also wonder why the buses would require expensive overhauls in such a short period of time since 2002 when they previously were adequately maintained from the 1930s through 1999.

Jan Knox, Glacier’s concessions manager, said that just because the prospectus terms are silent on what to do with the remaining 18 buses does not mean their future has been determined.

The prospectus, which was developed based on input from a variety of outside consultants, requires the contractor to carry out a complete rehabilitation of 15 buses at a cost of no less than $4.1 million. A minimum of five must be finished by 2020, six more by 2023 and the remainder by 2025.

“One of the proposal questions requires a minimum of 15 to be restored, but a better response would include a commitment to rehab as many as possible,” Knox said.

The minimum requirement for the remaining 18 is that they be replaced by 2029 with alternative fuel vehicles that are handicapped accessible, at a cost of no less than $4,025,000.

Knox stressed that all of the buses are owned by the National Park Service and any decisions about what to do with buses that are not restored by the concession contractor would be made in the future.

“We’re not intending to demolish them or get rid of them,” she said.

Denise Germann, the park’s public affairs officer, added, “We love those iconic buses just like the public does, and we’re going to do everything we can to retain them.”

Germann added that it’s possible the National Park Service could team with park partners to restore buses that are not restored by the concessions contractor.

Knox said the prospectus did not require that the entire fleet be restored out of concern that the cost would be excessive for potential bidders.

“It was a matter of financial viability of the contract,” she said.

Glacier Park Inc. holds the current contract that expires at the end of this year.

The park is seeking a contractor to handle the lodging, retail, transportation and food and beverage services that GPI has been responsible for operating the past 16 years.

GPI President Cindy Ognjanov said she is leading preparations for a contract bid that will be submitted by the March 14 deadline.

“That’s my purpose right now, to see if we can get this contract back,” said Ognjanov, who plans to retire after the process is complete. She said she will be succeeded by GPI Vice President and General Manager Ron Cadrette, who is currently overseeing day-to-day operations.

Ognjanov said GPI was not consulted by the National Park Service regarding the terms and conditions for the red buses or with any other part of the prospectus.

“We are an outsider. We are on a level playing field with anyone who wants this,” she said, adding that concession companies that operate in other national parks probably are bidding on the contract, but she doesn’t know which ones.