LAKE PUEBLO, CO — The Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced Tuesday that they had turned operations of the North Shore Marina over to a Colorado Springs vendor.
The North Shore Marina is located at Lake Pueblo State Park and had operations shut down earlier this year following electrical code violations.
The owner at the time decided to not renew operations following the shutdown and not negotiate another operation contract moving forward. As of November 1st CPW took control of operations at the marina.
The O'Neil Group Co. has taken control of the operations of the North Shore Marina from CPW as the interim manager, however, is in the process of negotiating a long-term contract of operations with CPW.
If the contract is negotiated The O'Neil Group will be the vendor of the North Shore Marina for the next 20 years. Currently, The O'Neil Group has agreed to a 9-month contract until the long-term agreement is signed.
The O'Neil Group has begun to reach out to previous boat owners who rented previous slips with the previous vendor.
CPW has not been idle since taking control of the North Shore Marina and has invested more than $135,000 in rebuilding the failing infrastructure.
One of the key improvements was the patching of the electrical wiring to allow the operation of bubbler systems to operate during the winter keeping slip access open all year long.
“Our hope is to work out a long-term operating contract with the O’Neil Group so work can begin to overhaul the marina facilities and restore it to a first-class facility,” said Joe Stadterman, Lake Pueblo Park Manager. “To show CPW’s commitment to the project, we invested in the facility to allow current renters to keep their boats in the marina all winter.”
The O'Neil Group has not been idle either as they intend to open the Marina store and sell fuel as soon as possible.
“We share CPW’s commitment to maintaining and upgrading the marina for the long-term use of the people of Southern Colorado and the state,” O’Neil said. “The CPW team has been highly responsive and we look forward to a great partnership with them in providing a first-class experience for the users."
The O’Neil Group Co. was founded in 2007 by Kevin O’Neil who developed it into a real estate, business management, and investment company. O’Neil said he sees the marina as an opportunity to keep a vital part of keeping Southern Colorado healthy and growing economically.
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