Vendor says Denver Parks appropriated Wheel Fund Rentals' business model

Gino Wasilowski told the council that Denver Parks and Recreation canceled what he described as a 21-year relationship with Wheel Fund Rentals and then replicated the private vendor’s operations.

“Wheel Fund Rentals provided the city with the great activities of both City Park and Washington Park ... For 21 years, Wheel Fund Rentals maintained an unblemished safety record,” Wasilowski said. He alleged the department is now operating fewer boats and fewer canopies than the private vendor provided and called the city’s actions an ethical failing.

Wasilowski said the city’s current boat counts fall short of what Wheel Fund Rentals had supplied at both parks and criticized the decision as a seizure of private business without public input, a claim framed as an ethical and operational concern rather than a legal finding.

The comment period did not include a response from Denver Parks and Recreation or a council vote. The speaker urged accountability and for the city to address service and community benefits lost in the contract change.