Washington – The 83-year-old widow battling to stay in her Rocky Mountain National Park summer home under the same conditions she’s had for 25 years testified before Congress today, saying she was wronged by the government and has the right to stay on the land.
“The contract I have with the government has never been honored and I have never agreed to any change,” Betty Dick testified at a Senate subcommittee hearing. “The government’s obligation remains outstanding that I receive a life estate in exchange for the money paid. The National Park Service does not want to talk about this but I do.”
Dick says she has the right to stay on the land for the rest of her life, under the financial and other terms of a 1980 agreement. The National Park Service says her 25-year-lease expired July 16.
There was no resolution to Dick’s case as of this afternoon, and one doesn’t appear imminent.
The National Park Service, in testimony at the same hearing, said Dick’s lease ended July 16 after 25 years. The Interior Department, which oversees the Park service, will only allow Dick to stay if the acreage she uses is cut to 5 acres from 23; if she pays roughly $1,000 a month instead of the $300 a year she now pays for summer usage; and that the land go back to the National Park Service when Dick can no longer use it.
Dick has rejected that offer, saying that she and her husband were given lifetime use of the land. The Park Service said the land belongs to the taxpayers.
Salazar said he would keep talking to the Park Service and try to work out a solution to help Dick.
The With Congress in session only a few more hours before they break for the August recess, Salazar’s bill won’t even be voted out of committee, the first step before it can be considered by the full Senate. Dick has permission to stay in the house through September.
