The Thermopolis-based company that operated the Star Plunge hot springs attractions for Wyoming for nearly 50 years is suing state agencies on claims the state chose a new operator in secret and against its own rules.
C&W Enterprises Inc. filed a civil action in Laramie County District Court on Aug. 5, asking a judge to void the state’s April selection of Wyoming Hot Springs LLC as the new operator for Star Plunge.
The Ask
C&W launches three claims against the state:
• That the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources violated its own concessionaire codes and the laws that apply to them by not establishing with the company a minimum amount a new concessionaire would have to compensate C&W for its investments.
• That State Parks acted on an invalid procedure for awarding “value points” to Wyoming Hot Springs.
• And that the State Parks’ selection of Wyoming Hot Springs is invalid because the agency and its commission allegedly didn’t follow the Wyoming Public Meetings Act.
The company is asking the court to void the state’s new deal with Wyoming Hot Springs, and to make the state launch a new bid process in which C&W can have another shot at securing its lease of 49 years.
This Background
The hot springs land belongs to the state, but the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, and its commission, has leased the attraction to C&W Enterprises since 1975, according to the company’s civil complaint.
C&W’s predecessors bought Star Plunge’s improvements, buildings, trade fixtures and equipment, and C&W has invested millions into its own improvements, says the document.
As the company’s lease approached its 2008 expiration the Wyoming attorney general presented C&W with a proposed new lease, but the state and the business couldn’t agree on the terms. The attorney general kept trying to negotiate over the years. Between 2008 and 2019, C&W and State Parks made a verbal arrangement to continue the terms of the prior lease until they could reach an agreement on a new lease, the company’s filing says.
Around December 2019, the state parks insisted that C&W execute a written concession contract to cover the next four months, which the parties then extended into June of 2021, says the document.
The complaint says that on June 29, 2021, State Parks sent a letter to C&W along with a new proposed agreement, and demanded C&W sign it within one day or close the business, potentially over the Fourth of July weekend.
So, C&W signed the new agreement to avoid losing revenue over the busy holiday weekend. That contract is set to expire Dec. 31 of this year, says the complaint.
That agreement recognized that State Parks had only received one bid, C&W’s, and that the parties had failed to strike a long-term agreement. It referenced a 2019 request for proposal (RFP) that reportedly says State Parks would have to re-bid the lease under a new RFP prior to the agreement’s expiration. It also required that any new concessionaire have to pay C&W $1.39 million for the value of improvements to the property.
The Star Plunge hot springs in Hot Springs State Park have been temporarily closed because management let its insurance lapsed. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
The outdoor pools at the Star Plunge. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
The exit point for the Star Plunge's water slide. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Looking For Bids
The state department issued a new RFP seeking bidders in 2023, but this RFP didn’t say what minimum amount the chosen company would have to pay C&W, says the complaint. The RFP also included evaluation scoring permitting State Parks to give a bidder extra points for “value added,” which the complaint casts as untethered from existing state rules.
C&W tried lodging a protest with the state’s Department of Administration and Information (A&I), but the attorney general’s office told the company neither A&I nor state law outline such a process, the complaint says.
C&W then submitted a bid, hoping to salvage its concessionaire deal. The state commission met and considered the bids April 11, 2024.
The company alleges that the state didn’t properly announce that meeting to the public nor post its minutes in a timely manner after the meeting, in violation of Wyoming’s Public Meetings Act.
None of the commission’s meeting minutes for 2024 had posted to the state’s boards and commissions website until after a June 26 call from C&W’s lawyer, the complaint says.
Company Says You Didn’t Tell Us
The State Parks concession rules reportedly require that the department director shall make a final written decision when awarding a lease to a concessionaire.
“Despite that requirement, in the months following the Commission’s April 11, 2024, meeting and up until June 27, 2024, State Parks never directly sent a copy of the director’s final decision to C&W,” the complaint says. Again, when a lawyer nudged the agency, the attorney general sent an internal memorandum dated April 15, which the AG’s office called the director’s final written decision, reportedly.
If C&W can prove that the state agencies acted outside the methods the law outlines for them, their actions are void, the lawsuit says, citing earlier Wyoming cases.
“Despite (its) investments and C &W’s ownership of all improvements at the Star Plunge, State Parks deprived C&W of a fair opportunity to compete in the bidding process, and seeks to deprive C &W of its property without compensation and any meaningful public notice or due process,” the document says.
Deteriorating
Brooks Jordan, regional director for Wyoming State Parks, told Cowboy State Daily in May that feels the state made a good faith effort over several years to come to terms with C&W owner Roland Luehne and sign a long-term lease, but just couldn’t reach terms that satisfied both parties.
A portion of Luehne’s lease requires him to hand over the Star Plunge facilities at the conclusion of the contract, so the state’s position is that no compensation is owed for the facility.
“I think we had been in negotiations since 2020,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “And we were required to issue an RFP for any long-term concession agreement in excess of five years. We can do short-term agreements for up to five years, but for those greater than five years, we have to use an RFP.”
Jordan said the main issues the state wanted to address with its latest RFP weren’t just focused on the Star Plunge. There are competing operations at the park, inconsistent operations by some of the concessionaires, and deteriorating physical conditions at all of the park facilities, which are decades old.
“These facilities have just reached their lifespan in terms of how they’re being maintained and the condition that they’re in now,” he said. “And Thermopolis is an important part of tourism and outdoor recreation across the state and the region. We hope to not only bolster that but improve the contribution of our facilities toward tourism and outdoor recreation.”
The Wyoming Attorney General and State Parks spokesman both declined Wednesday to comment to Cowboy State Daily, citing the now-active litigation.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
