[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 26, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E86-E87]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 BILL TO PERMIT BETTY DICK TO CONTINUE USE OF HER HOME IN GRAND COUNTY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 26, 2005

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I am today introducing a bill to 
permit Ms. Betty Dick to continue her use and occupancy of a house 
located within Rocky Mountain National

[[Page E87]]

Park. The bill is cosponsored by my Colorado colleague, Representative 
Tancredo. I greatly appreciate his support.
  The purpose is to allow an 82-year-old Grand County grandmother to 
continue to live in this house for the rest of her life, as she has 
done for 25 years under a legal agreement between her late husband and 
the National Park Service. That agreement ends on July 16 of this year. 
Without this bill or a new agreement with the National Park Service, at 
that time Ms. Dick, who has been a good neighbor with the National Park 
and who has opened her home for community events, will be evicted from 
this property.
  Such an eviction is neither necessary nor desirable. Ms. Dick has 
been a good neighbor, has taken good care of the property and has not 
created management or administrative problems for the National Park 
Service in the years she has lived on this property. She should be 
allowed to continue to live on this property and continue to contribute 
to the National Park and the surrounding community.
  I had hoped that Ms. Dick and the Interior Department could work out 
a resolution to this issue so that she could remain on her property.
  Last year I asked Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton to help make 
that happen. But the response--from the Director of the National Park 
Service's Intermountain Region--was that the Interior Department is 
``legally bound to honor the provisions of the [1980] settlement 
agreement'' and that the furthest the Department would go would be to 
offer Ms. Dick ``the opportunity to remain on the property for the 
entire summer of 2005,'' an offer that evidently she has declined.
  Ms. Dick needs to have a resolution to this issue as soon as 
possible--she needs to know by this spring whether she has to start 
packing her things and move out, or arrange to do some maintenance on 
the property if she is allowed to stay. I am not convinced that the 
Interior Department lacks the authority to resolve this matter by 
entering into a new agreement with Ms. Dick. But in any event, my bill 
would settle that question.
  Since I first raised this matter with the Interior Department, I have 
been impressed with the outpouring of support from the nearby 
communities of Grand Lake and Granby, Colorado. The people in these 
communities have expressed a strong desire to have Ms. Dick remain on 
this property and be a part of their community. That is the purpose of 
this bill. For the information of our colleagues, I am attaching 
background information and an outline of the bill:


                               Background

  Prior to their divorce, a married couple, Fred Dick and Marilyn Dick, 
owned as tenants in common a tract of land within the boundaries of 
Rocky Mountain National Park that included the property covered by the 
bill.
  When Fred and Marilyn Dick were divorced, Marilyn Dick became the 
sole owner of the tract, but Fred Dick retained the right of first 
refusal to acquire it if Marilyn Dick ever chose to sell it.
  In 1977, Marilyn Dick sold the tract to the United States for 
addition to Rocky Mountain National Park, but Fred Dick, asserting his 
right of first refusal, sued to cancel the transaction.
  In 1980, that lawsuit was settled through an agreement between the 
National Park Service and Mr. Dick and his heirs, successors and 
assigns. Under the settlement agreement, Mr. Dick and his new wife, Ms. 
Betty Dick, were allowed to lease and occupy the 23 acres comprising 
the property identified in section 2(b) for 25 years. Mr. Dick died in 
1992, but Betty Dick has continued to lease and occupy the property 
identified in section 2(b) under the terms of the settlement agreement.
  Betty Dick's right to lease and occupy the property will expire on 
July 16, 2005, at which time Ms. Dick will have attained the age of 83 
years. She wishes to continue to occupy the property for the remainder 
of her life, and has sought to conclude a new agreement with the 
National Park Service that would permit her to do so. However, the Park 
Service has not been willing to agree to such an arrangement and is 
demanding that she vacate the property by July 16, 2005.
  Since 1980, Betty Dick has consistently occupied the property as a 
summer residence and has made it available for community events. During 
that period, she has been a good steward of the property. Her occupancy 
has not been detrimental to the resources and values of Rocky Mountain 
National Park and has not created problems for the National Park 
Service or the public.


                          Purpose of the Bill

  The legislation reflects the fact that it is appropriate for Betty 
Dick to be permitted to continue her occupancy of the property covered 
by the bill or the remainder of her natural life under the terms and 
conditions applicable to such occupancy since 1980. The purpose of the 
bill is to require the Secretary of the Interior to permit this.


                          Outline of the Bill

  Section 1 provides a short title, sets forth findings regarding 
background information and states the purpose of the legislation.
  Section 2 has four subsections--
  Subsection 2(a) would require the Secretary of the Interior to permit 
continued use and occupancy of property described in subsection (b) by 
Betty Dick for the remainder of her natural life, subject to the 
requirements of the bill.
  Subsection 2(b) identifies the property covered by the bill through 
an appropriate map reference.
  Subsection 2(c) provides that Ms. Dick's occupancy and use of the 
property covered by the bill is to be subject to the same terms and 
conditions as have applied to such use and occupancy under the 1980 
agreement between the National Park Service and Ms. Dick's late 
husband, except that Ms. Dick is to make annual rental payments 
equivalent to \1/25\th of the up-front amount that the agreement 
required to be paid to the National Park Service in 1980.
  Subsection (d) states that nothing in the bill is to be construed as 
permitting construction of any new structure on the property covered by 
the bill and that nothing in the bill would apply to occupancy or use 
of the property by anyone except Betty Dick.

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