Your source for news in Hot Springs County
The future of Hot Springs State Park's Star Plunge may be in jeopardy, according to Star Plunge owner Roland Luehne.
"With the new master plan that came out, they have every intention in the world to eliminate this facility," Luehne said.
Luehne said the Star Plunge has been in the park for over 100 years, opening in 1900. His family has owned the establishment going on 42 years.
Unlike the Teepee Pool and the Plaza Hotel, Star Plunge does not have a long-term lease plan, Luehne said.
"We've been going on a month-to-month lease," he said. "They can pull the plug on us anytime."
Not only is Star Plunge in jeopardy of being eliminated, the use of mineral waters in both the Star Plunge and Tepee Pools is also an issue of concern, Luehne said.
"The plan said the use of mineral water for terraces and fountains is the highest priority followed by the bathhouse," he said. "Terraces and fountains are important, and the bathhouse is the most important to keep the park. But on the lowest priority of allocation will be tourist pools. So if the terraces call for more mineral water, they are going to take it from the concessionaires, which means we won't have a steam room or a hot tub for that day."
Luehne explained that over time, active recreation pools including shallow and deep ends, slides and splash pools will be filled with potable water.
"No one will come here to Thermopolis to Star Plunge or Tepee for regular chlorinated water," he said. "They want to annihilate and leave Star Plunge in the dust. As soon as they decide to do it, we're done."
Luehne said he will do whatever it takes to keep Star Plunge open.
"We really want a peaceful solution but there is no way we can have a peaceful solution," he said. "What I mean by that is, we don't want a brawl - it's embarrassing for everybody. But if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. We don't want that, but some people that love this pool just as much as I do, they want some answers and they want the right thing to happen - that's to keep the Star Plunge."
Star Plunge generates over 60,000 tourists per year, Luehne said.
"We get people from around the state, around the country and around the world - just thousands of people enjoying our facility," he said.
Luehne said it is not just about saving Star Plunge, but about saving the community.
"We generate people for the whole community," he said. "They come here for the facilities, we keep them here for a span of time. Then, they leave here and go get camping spots or hotel rooms. They go to local restaurants. They shop at local businesses. We bring people here - thousands of them. And we've brought millions here in the last hundred years."
Eliminating Star Plunge will hurt the local economy badly, Luehne said.
"This will be the end, not just for Star Plunge, but for a lot of other businesses in the town that are struggling," he said.
Luehne said he has been trying to get Star Plunge recognized as a historic landmark but has received opposition from the state.
Planning Coordinator for State Parks Historic Sites and Trails Todd Thibodeau said that in order for a place to be recognized as a historic landmark it must be at least one hundred years old and it must convey a sense of what it once was historically.
"I believe the reason Star Plunge has not been recognized as a historic landmark is because it has been modified several times over the years and it does not convey that sense of historic integrity," he said.
Luehne explains that the modifications to Star Plunge over the years were necessary because of the mineral waters.
"This is a very harsh environment at the Star Plunge," he said. "The sulfur smell is acidic. It eats metal. It eats concrete. It eats wiring. It eats everything up. We're much better now than we were 40 years ago. We're much smarter about the materials we use and we've also developed a heating system inside using the mineral water. Since we've developed the new ventilation system, everything has lasted much longer."
Luehne said he wants to thank everyone for their overwhelming support.
"I thank everybody for the support that they're giving," he said. "I urge them to please read the fine print in the master plan."
Reader Comments(0)