Construction at the Cachuma Lake Recreational Area is near completion and will come with updated RV spots, utilities, and a chance of higher fees for campers.

The Santa Barbara County Community Services Department is proposing raising prices for RV hookup sites once the construction is done and the spots reopen.

The county park has been undergoing a $14 million upgrade to the facilities that included new concrete parking pads, new electrical hookups, and new sewage and water lines for RV hookup sites; improved bathroom facilities; and landscaping.

Sherman Hanen, the Community Services business manager, said the campground and other infrastructure were built when the park originally opened in the early 1960s. He added that the goal was to modernize the facilities and make it more comfortable.

“We’ve actually cut down the number of sites in the area by about 10 or 15, which will give people a little bit more room. But basically, we just knew we had an old RV park, and we just rebuilt it,” Hanen said.

Other changes were to make the spots more compatible with current RV models. One of the upgrades will be the electrical hookups that will be changed from 30 amp to 50 amp to suit the current standard for RVs.

Another new feature will be the installation of Wi-Fi.

The site upgrades were supposed to be finished last year, but delays pushed the finish line to this year.

Hanen said delays to the project were caused by the weather, but the department expects the work to be completed soon.

“It was just bad timing because we had two very wet winters in a row, which delayed construction,” Hanen said. “But as of right now, the project managers tell us, the park will be open by the end of May, hopefully by Memorial Day weekend.”

The county proposes increasing overnight camping fees for the upgraded RV hookup sites.

The price for an overnight RV hookup site in the off-season would increase from $50 to $85. The price for a spot during the peak season would increase from $55 to $95, according to the fee proposal.

The new prices were determined by researching other modern RV parts in the region, according to Hanen. He said the current prices were under the market price for comparable sites.

Hanen added that the new prices would be only for the new modernized spots and not RV spots that were not upgraded.

The proposed prices are expected to bring in an additional $570,000 in revenue for the park per year, staff said. The revenue then would be used for debt service, higher salaries and benefits, increases in costs because of the new facilities, and other deferred maintenance.

The fee increases must be approved by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, which is expected to review and vote on the matter during its meeting on May 1. If the increases are approved, the new fees would go into effect when the RV sites open.

At Lake Cachuma, many visitors say the upgrades will be good for the park.

Mark Kulikov said he has worked as a campground host for about 13 years. He lives in Montana but travels to the camp during the winter to see his kids and fish along the lake.

“It was pretty good the way that it was; however, I know that it had some years and time on there, and every once in awhile you’d have some plumbing issue,” he said. “Basically, it just needed to be upgraded. So, I’m kind of pleased that they’re doing that.”

Terry Swanson said she has been using RVs for about five years. She is originally from Denver but said she has traveled coast to coast visiting different campsites.

She said the Cachuma campgrounds were busier before the construction project began but believes it will be better after the project is completed.

“I think there will be a lot more happy campers that can get in there and have full hookups,” Swanson said. “It will bring a lot more people into the park.”