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Mammoth Dog Teams to get new lease |
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Friday, 19 March 2010 |
By Wendilyn Grasseschi
Mammoth Times Staff writer
 mammoth times photo/wendilyn grasseschi Jim Ouimet and Mammoth Dog Teams will be able to remain on Mono County property near the geothermal plant, but the old substation will have to be demolished.
Sort of.
The good news for Ouimet is that the county decided Tuesday that he and his huskies get to stay more or less where they are, out on county property near the geothermal plant on the east side of U.S. 395.
The bad news is that it will still be many months before the lease is final and even then, it will be a short-term lease of either five or 10 years.
But Ouimet is not complaining, not after months of wondering, hoping and working to finally have a home for his business.
“I’ve said over and over I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it going,” he said. “It’s a tradition that’s been alive for 83 years. This is a dying art, and this is my 20th year of running dogs. I’ll do what it takes.”
What it is going to take is something of a brand new start for Ouimet and his ragtag team of dog mushers and his sleek Malamute and Alaskan Husky dogs. At an emotional meeting packed with Dog Teams supporters, the county supervisors made it clear they fully support Ouimet and his business, and that they will structure a new lease to accommodate him.
“This will have to go to a competitive lease process, but I would look very favorably on Jim’s business due to the historic nature of the business he provides,” said District 1 Supervisor Tom Farnetti.
The supervisors were also intrigued with the idea of Ouimet’s business adding to the value of the substation location, especially given the fact that there are also plans for a new educational center on the geothermal plant property.
Ouimet must meet conditions
Ouimet was put on warning to stick to his new lease, whenever it is completed.
“I need a level of comfort that your lease obligation will be met and I can tell you I’m not completely comfortable right now,” said District 3 Supervisor Vikki Bauer, referring to the fact that Ouimet violated his previous lease when he allowed employees to live in the substation.
The board also made it clear that the old substation that has housed the Dog Teams’ “home-grown” museum for the past is unfit and unsafe for human habitation and would have to be demolished. That means Ouimet is going to have to pony up some money to move into a new building that is equipped to meet state handicapped accessibility. Ouimet will also need to bring his self-made museum featuring dogsled history back, something he happily agreed to.
Ouimet has acknowledged he violated lease conditions at times and said he was ready to meet the county’s conditions.
“I want to really, really thank the board of supervisors for supporting us, for supporting something with such historical significance,” he said Wednesday morning. “We’ve still got a long ways to go and it’s going to take some work to come up with the money for a new building, but I can do it. And at least with this decision, I can get back to work now, finish out the season, then start working on this new process.”
Another issue that came up was whether or not Ouimet is violating state law by tethering his dogs for long periods of time. This arose after county animal control got a complaint. According to Ouimet’s lawyer, Therese Henkel, the state law was never meant to apply to working dogs, such as sled dogs.
“They didn’t think of it when they wrote the law because they didn’t even know there were any sled dogs in California,” she said.
She will push to get the law changed and in the meantime, she said she is committed to working with animal control to resolve the issue.
Supporters speak up
The decision was a relief to the 40 or so supporters that packed the room. Their testimonies about Ouimet and his dogs were heartfelt and sometimes tearful.
“Taking these dogs away from this man would destroy it,” said Mike Anderson. “He needs them and so does this community. And it sure wouldn’t look good for the county if we ended up being the county with the homeless dogs.”
“Were always sending families with kids, like the family with a three-year-old and a 70-year-old, away, down to Bishop, to Keough’s or something, because there isn’t enough for families to do, said another supporter. “There’s no arcade, no ice rink, no place for kids … Mammoth’s always about grow, grow, grow, but you can’t keep taking things away that are for the people and that’s something that Jim’s dogs are.”
Even Mammoth’s own Steve Searles weighed in.
“Some of your staff seems to be biased in the way they’ve treated Jim,” he said, referring to the fact that county staff had required Ouimet to stop using the interior of the Sheriff’s substation for his museum and living quarters last year due to safety concerns and because it was in violation of the lease. “Let’s look at getting your talented staff to help him out, instead.”
Others suggested that they would be willing to volunteer their time to help build Ouimet the new kennels and infrastructure he will need.
“Put 20 guys out there in two weekends and we can get it done,” said one man.
In the end, the supervisors agreed to begin the process of working with Ouimet on a new lease that will work for both the county and the dogs.
What’s next?
The process is expected to take at least three months, then go out to bid. Although the bid will be competitive, the board can structure it in such a way as to uniquely accommodate Ouimet, because his privately-owned business is considered to be in the rather unusual category of a “public good,” according to county counsel.
The property Ouimet leases belongs to the county and as such, the county will continue to use parts of the property for equipment storage or other needs, after deciding what county priorities are, the board said. In addition, the county will demolish the current substation building, at a cost of $82,000 due to major problems with rodent infestation arsenic contamination and more.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 26 March 2010 )
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