City Looks For Campground Host

By Gordon HopkinsThe City of Fairbury is searching for a campground host for Crystal Springs Park. A campground host is a volunteer who lives and works at a campground site.The services provided vary by site but would involve assisting campers and maintaining various campground facilities, such as cleaning restrooms. Crystal Springs did have a camp host previously but has not for several years.The issue was discussed at a meeting of the Public Works Committee on Tuesday, February 15, 2022. City Administrator Robert Messbarger said, “This is a program that the Mayor (Spencer Brown) and I have been discussing for a while. I based it largely off of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, their campground host program. I reached out to them on a few different occasions. They said they’ve had great success with it. They were really excited when I told him that we were looking at doing this.”According to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s website, “Campground hosts are willing to be ambassadors of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission who welcome campers and visitors to the State Park System. Campground hosts work approximately 20 hours per week in exchange for a free campsite, electrical hookup and use of area’s shower facilities, where available.”Messbarger said, “Essentially, it’s a volunteer program. The biggest cost to the city would be that we’d be waiving the camping fees during the allotted time. It would be only during the summer months of April 15 to October 15, when the water is on. That’s when we have majority of the campers. This last year, we had 463 total campers in 2021.” In addition to providing assistance to campers, Messbarger point out, “We’re hoping that this program would help cut down on vandalism, reckless drivers, and it would also increase people actually paying for the full weekend and increasing accountability out there as well.”City councilperson Kelly Davis said, “I like the idea of a host.”Councilperson Phil Rogge asked, “Do we know, do we have people interested?Messbarger said, “We haven’t formally advertised this. But I’m talking to people, it seems like we have an interest.” The committee voted to recommend the camp host program and the Fairbury City Council voted to approve the program at a meeting on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.The city has begun advertising for the host position.The host will need to provide their own camper or RV and camp in the designated camp host area.

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