Lincoln resident develops camper spaces to raise money for Lincoln School

Are you curious about what's going on with that long-vacant lot across from Grizzly Hardware and the Bootlegger? Steve Hartman purchased the property earlier this year and has developed a place for campers and RVs to park in the center of town, while raising money for our local school.

"It seems the school is always struggling and I thought this was a way to help them. They're always in need of uniforms for volleyball or football, or something else. Something needed to be done and now I'm in a position to help, so I am," Hartman said and added, "I love this town and I love the people."

Hartman posted a few photos of the property on the Lincoln Live Facebook page, along with information about parking RV's and campers there for the weekend, for a donation of $50 or more. RVs and campers can park Friday and Saturday evenings, with a departure by 9 p.m. Sunday. For the coming Labor Day weekend, for a donation of $75 or more, campers can come in on Friday and stay until 10 p.m. Monday evening.

The catch, or a couple of them... first, RV's or campers would need to be self-contained, as no services are available on the property, and second, all donations would need to be made payable to Lincoln Public Schools.

For the foreseeable future, Hartman sees funds from the property going to the school, but he also sees the need for money elsewhere in the community, and next year may seek to raise money on behalf of another project or organization.

Hartman, who purchased his home in 2001 through an online auction and moved here full-time in 2004 from Santa Cruz, Calif., remembers being asked by one of the classes at the school for a donation a few years back, to raise funds for a projector and screen so they could hold movie nights in the park. At the time, he made a donation, but noted nothing was able to proceed with their plans because they hadn't raised enough money. He wasn't sure whether that was because the idea didn't catch on with the community, or whether they didn't advertise or have additional fundraisers, but he thought it was a wonderful idea and now this RV parking lot may be a way to help the kids make that a reality.

Hartman has always loved the wooded parcel where the newly graded RV spaces now sit, but five years ago when he was looking at them, the price was far above his budget. The price dropped, and it was still above his budget a couple of years ago, but things had changed when he happened to check out the properties a few months ago and the prices had dramatically dropped. He spoke with Becky Garland of Action Realty, and made an offer, which was accepted within a matter of hours.

Once he acquired the property, he needed to find something to do with it. He had visions of a 'Notorious Lincoln Treehouse Inn," based on Pete Nelson's Treehouse Master videos, which he loves to watch, but sadly, that wasn't in the cards. His goal was always to leave the property as natural as possible and only wanted to remove the trees necessary to create the camping spaces. Most of the natural trees are still there. He secured a tractor/backhoe to grade the lots and create weekend parking spots for RV's and campers.

His idea of putting the spaces on property in the center of town was to give people a little more access to the town's shopping and eating establishments.

"Both Hooper Park and Spring Creek RV are a half-mile walk into town, whereas everything anyone could need is in walking distance from the property, including the Mountain View Co-op, which has a place for dumping gray water, food for purchase, restrooms, gasoline, and a place to obtain propane. The Bootlegger is just a jog across the street for dinner, and the Coyote Coffee Hut is the same distance for those morning coffee-goers," Hartman stated.

He's purchased liability insurance for the property, and will be putting in signage and solar energy rope lighting to mark the entrance and exit this week. There will be envelopes for campers to fill out and pay for their spaces, again, with all payments being made to Lincoln Public Schools. Further improvements and additional spaces will be added to the property as he is financially able to do so.

Plans for this year include being open through the last weekend of hunting season. Currently, parking is available only on weekends or by appointment and special arrangements during the week.

For reservations or to find out more information, please contact Steve via Facebook messenger at Steven D. Hartman, or you can reach him by phone at 406-362-4434.