CHENEY, Kan. — It appears that any chance of having at least some service from the marina at Cheney Reservoir for the Memorial Day Holiday is all but gone.
Negotiations between an area convenience store owner and the state have taken too much time to get the
marina open for this weekend. The marina has been closed for two years now, ever since the concessionaire’s license with Snyder’s marina was suspended.
Since then, the state and the Bureau of Reclamation have been moving slowly through a long process to get the marina up and running again. Campers got some relief last summer when Kaps convenience stores of Cheney opened a small store near the lake. That contract between Kaps and the state ran out in September, and the owners of Kaps have been trying to get a contract signed for the marina since.
In talking with a spokesperson for the BOR, even if the state and Kaps were to come to an agreement in the next day or two, there would not be enough time to get through the several levels of approval on the federal end of things to get the marina open.
Kaps has always gone over the top to serve Cheney State Park visitors during the holidays since the marina closed by making sure they were ready for the rush of campers and boaters who travel to the small community of Cheney, just south of the park.
The BOR could not give any indication as to when a contract could be signed for the matter to begin the long journey up the federal chain.