The council announced yesterday it had appointed a new company called Council Camps Revitalised Ltd to manage four of its holiday parks - Wanaka Lake View, Glendhu Bay Lakeside, Queenstown Lake View and Arrowtown Born of Gold.
The company consists of experienced holiday park operators Erna Spijkerbosch and Antonius Spijkerbosch, of Queenstown, and Agerta Hofsteenge and Rudolf Sanders, of Wanaka.
Mr Sanders told the Otago Daily Times yesterday the company had been awarded a three-year management contract rather than its preferred option of a long-term lease.
Mr Sanders said he and other directors of the company had many ideas about how the camping grounds could be developed.
But under the three-year contract, making any major capital investment would be too risky.
''That's the very awkward position we are in at the moment.
''We would like to go ahead but at the moment we can't.
''We just have to take it easy for a wee bit. But we have some great plans.''
Those included bringing the Otago Polytechnic's Centre for Sustainable Practice into the Wanaka park to share a new office building.
Mr Sanders said they would also like to install a biofuel boiler to heat water and park buildings, build a small swimming pool, install a ''jumping pillow'' for children and refurbish all the shower and toilet facilities.
''Maybe even bulldoze it all down and start from scratch.''
However, that could not happen under the management contract.
''I guess council did not want to commit to a long-term lease arrangement,'' Mr Sanders said.
''There are still discussions going on about the sports facilities and, of course, a new council coming in now has sort of renewed the discussion.''
Mr Sanders showed the ODT the area of the holiday park one new Wanaka councillor was suggesting for the town's indoor sports facility.
''So we just have to wait for the new council to make up its mind and create a long-term plan, basically,'' Mr Sanders said.
Council general manager legal Scott Carran said the three-year contract was for a transition period ''following which the council hopes to enter into a long-term lease arrangement''.
''There is a capability within the three-year contract to bring that process forward.''
Senior communications adviser for the council Michele Poole said CCR was chosen for the management contract ''on a series of criteria which included their track record and management experience''.
Two council jobs were lost as a result of the change.
There will be further negotiations with CCR over management of the Albert Town Camp Ground.
Mr Sanders said they had watched the Wanaka Lake View Holiday Park ''going backwards'' over the past 15 years and had given a lot of thought to how its fortunes could be turned around.
Mr Sanders and Ms Hofsteenge are running the Wanaka holiday parks and the other directors are running the Queenstown parks.
