Residents press parks board to change trailer-lottery rules as lease delays hamper reforms

The Natrona County Parks Board heard multiple public comments and staff proposals on March 12 about revising the trailer-lottery process to make it easier for trailer owners to sell and for buyers to be found.

Michael, parks staff, described a planned change that would remove a drawn name from the lottery pool so one household could not occupy multiple draw slots. He said the revision is intended to increase the number of unique individuals eligible for drawn offers and noted federal rules and the Bureau of Recreation's requirements constrain what the county can do.

"If you end up having a bunch of people that are looking for a specific trailer and they're waiting for that one to come up, then that really limits your pool," Michael said while explaining the technical mechanics proposed for the drawing.

Public commenters pressed for broader changes. Brad Oracle urged giving sellers a longer candidate list so they can find more potential buyers: "Why not get the whole list? It increases everybody's chances," he said. Oracle also compared the county's practice to other marinas that run annual lotteries.

Resident Nancy Vincel asked whether draft lease documents had been shared with the trailer-park association before the county submitted them to the Bureau of Recreation; staff said drafts had been shared with association contacts and that Bureau comments are now with the bureau's regional office.

Other residents raised equity questions about limiting multiple applicants tied to a single address. "That's kind of harsh because ... you could be roommates," said Honda Edwards, arguing that adult family members or roommates often legitimately share an address. Trustees acknowledged the concern and said they would seek a balanced solution.

Trustees discussed practical fixes: adding application fields for preferred property characteristics (one-, two- or three-bedroom, vacant lot vs. occupied lot), sorting candidate lists by seller-specified characteristics before drawing, and using address de-duplication so one household does not occupy multiple slots in a five-name draw.

Michael said staff will prototype a pivot-table/filtering process and test it before presenting formal changes to the Bureau of Recreation for approval. He also noted administrative constraints: permit documents and any proposed lottery modifications must be approved by the bureau before the county can implement them.

What happens next: staff will test technical changes and accept written suggestions from the public and the trailer-park association before bringing a revised lottery procedure back to the board and, if required, to the Bureau of Recreation for approval.