, but a legal battle over management of the marina and yacht club is leaving some users feeling high and dry.
Todd Brophy, under his company , has operated the marina and yacht club at Cherry Creek State Park for nearly 30 years. After state officials in August awarded the concession contract to a different vendor, Brophy filed a breach of contract suit against the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Arapahoe County District Court.
At issue, Brophy said, is the state’s refusal to pay him or ensure that he is paid by the new vendor for an estimated $2.36 million in facilities upgrades he made during his time managing the marina, including a 11,000-square-foot marina and yacht club building, docks and slips, and boat lift.
“The best result is that someone pays me fairly for what I built,” he said.
State officials have indicated that if the lawsuit goes unresolved past the marina’s April 1 opening date, recreation at the reservoir will continue without that facility.
“Even if this matter is not resolved by the summer boating season, we anticipate minimal if any effects to the public,” Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said in a statement.”The general boating public will not be affected as both boat ramps will be open.”
Some regular aren’t so sure.
Joe Beierl, a 20-year member of the Denver Sailing Association, said the marina remaining closed will certainly complicate his use of Cherry Creek Reservoir this year. He typically keeps his keelboat at a marina slip for ease of access throughout the season, a resource he has become so accustomed to that he said he no longer owns a vehicle suited to towing the vessel back and forth to his house between uses.
He said his boat needs four feet of water to float and it is complicated to launch from the boat ramps. The easiest way to get it in the water is to use a hoist on the marina grounds, another tool he is uncertain he will have access to this year. Without a slip, he said he may not be able to race as often as he has in year’s past.
“Normally, I could just run down after work and hop on the boat — but now I don’t even know if I’ll do that every week because it’s such a hassle,” Beierl said. “We and a number of other sailers are just kind of wondering what is going to happen. I just wish they would get it all settled.”
James Cook has owned the for 29 years, working with Brophy at Cherry Creek Reservoir for all of that time. Cook said he doesn’t have an opinion on the litigation and isn’t choosing sides, but he said he will not be able to host students at Cherry Creek Reservoir until the situation is resolved.
Victoria Sailing School also operates at Chatfield Reservoir, Carter Lake and Lake Dillon.
“I don’t know what is going to happen,” Cook said. “I’m just hanging out on the sideline waiting to see.”
Officials with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, who are representing the state interest in the suit, have declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
A jury trial, should one take place, is scheduled to begin Nov. 30, according to court records.
Erik Dyce is the president and CEO of Vencore Marine Group, the contractor chosen to take over the marina from Brophy’s company. Dyce did not want to comment on the suit, but he said his company is ready to open the marina the moment he is given approval.
In the meantime, Brophy said he is continuing maintenance and is seeking to insure the docks and other assets at the marina. He said the worst-case scenario would be a lost season on the water.
“That would be a terrible, terrible, terrible outcome,” he said, “and that is what we are tying to avoid.”
Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953, jrubino@denverpost.com or twitter.com/RubinoJC
