An Austin family that has operated a boat rental business on Barton Creek for more than half a century may be in line to receive a new “legacy concession” designation – a special status designed to protect longstanding local businesses in city parks.
But even with that possibility on the horizon, the owners of Zilker Park Boat Rentals say they won’t celebrate until the city grants them a new multi-year contract agreement spelling out the special designation.
When the proposal reached City Council on Nov. 6, it was packaged with a broader set of revisions to the city’s concession rules. The family had hoped the designation would go forward as a stand-alone item, rather than folded into a slate of policy changes that critics say would expand the authority of the parks department director and bolster the role of nonprofit partners that manage Zilker Park and the Butler Hike and Bike Trail.
As such, the legacy designation was overshadowed by the revisions that critics said pushes decision-making into the back room.
“What this is supposed to be is something good for an iconic small business, Hispanic owned, that’s been in Zilker Park literally since the Sixties,” community activist Robin Rather told the Council. “What it’s become is a convoluted policy statement that does nothing but advantage very affluent nonprofits …”
The family of founders Howard Barnett and Dorothy Lopez Barnett say their relationship with the city soured about five years ago during debates over the controversial Zilker Park Vision Plan, which was ultimately scrapped to temper fierce battles between community members.
One idea of the plan had called for the Barnetts’ concession to relocate from Barton Creek to the hike and bike trail, placing it under the oversight of the Trail Conservancy, a nonprofit partner of the parks department. The family resisted and spoke out at public meetings. “I instantly became persona non grata,” Laura Massengale, a family co-owner, recalled of that period.
Since then, the city has only granted the boating concession 12-month extensions on their contract, while other concessionaires have been granted lengthier contracts.
A parks department spokesperson agreed that the vision plan process contributed to the delay in the business securing a long-term contract, and cited other factors, including the city’s exploration of new ways to select concessionaires, and environmental challenges, such as erosion along Barton Creek caused by past flooding.
Massengale told the Council of the hardship of trying to plan under a string of short-term extensions. “Try running a business one year at a time for six years,” she said. Her parents launched the operation in 1969 – the park’s first boating concession – with just nine canoes. The business, tucked downstream from Barton Springs Pool, stands as one of the last visible traces of “old Austin” in Zilker Park.
“I think we’ve lost the intent of what it is we’re trying to do by acknowledging a legacy business,” Paul Saldaña, a lobbyist the family hired this year, told Council ahead of the vote. “Rather than trying to protect these iconic small businesses, we’re now sidetracking and focusing on [nonprofits] and other special interest groups.”
He pointed to what he described as a revolving door at the Parks and Recreation Department: The current director, Jesús Aguirre, joined the city this year from a nonprofit park group, while a previous director left in 2023 to lead a nonprofit partner of the department. An interim director filled the gap year.
Citing turnover within the department and limited public accountability for its nonprofit partners, the family asked Council to amend the policy so that the parks director would not have “sole discretion” in deciding which businesses qualify as legacy concessions.
“My ask today is that you carefully consider what the word ‘sole authority’ means,” Dorothy Lopez Barnett said in her testimony. “If in trying to create a one-size-fits-all rule, ‘sole authority’ could be a heavy hammer if used by the wrong person.” She asked that the city manager or City Council make the final determination on legacy concessions.
But Council declined to amend the policy, approving it with six votes. Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, José Velásquez, and Ryan Alter voted against; Mike Siegel abstained, and Mayor Kirk Watson was absent. Fuentes said her opposition stemmed from concerns raised during public testimony and was “not a reflection of the organizations and the services” included in the broader concession policy.
Council Member Paige Ellis, on the other hand, was the only member to voice support for the new policy, stating she has championed the creation of a legacy concession designation in city parks and worked with staff to help make that happen.
A parks department spokesperson said the city is now drafting a new agreement for the boating concession. Once complete, it will go to City Council for authorization, clearing the way for the parks department to enter final contract negotiations – and potentially designate the city’s first official legacy concessionaire at Zilker Park.
This article appears in November 21 • 2025.