The Sprague Corporation, which currently leases to the state approximately 100 acres of Crescent Beach State Park, wants to take over management of the entire park when the lease is up in 2010.

But state officials say they don’t like that idea. If it did happen, annual statewide park passes might not work at Crescent Beach.

A 1960 lease allows the state to use the entrance road to the park, part of the parking lot and part of the beach, in exchange for a single dollar. It is clear from preliminary discussions the new terms of the lease will not be as accommodating.

Seth Sprague, spokesman for the Sprague Corporation, said the portion of the state park the corporation owns is an important piece of land. “We have our own financial obligation to meet as well,” he said.

Property taxes on the Sprague family’s land, a large portion of Cape Elizabeth, have climbed in recent years, drawing complaints from the family-owned corporation and playing a role in the family’s decision to allow a cell tower to be built on its land near Great Pond.

Tom Morrison, director of operations at the Bureau of Parks and Lands, said there has been some initial discussion with the Sprague Corporation about the future of the property, and “it seems fairly clear their position is they are not willing to just renew the lease with similar terms and conditions.”

Morrison said the department has not “chosen to embrace” the idea of turning over management of the entire 244-acre park. But, the fact the Sprague Corporation owns a significant portion of land, including the land the entrance road is on, gives the corporation a lot of leverage.

The state may be able to create a park entrance elsewhere, but Morrison said “it’s a possibility that they might end up managing it.”

The arrangement would be similar with the one the Sprague Corporation currently has with the state concerning the management of Scarborough Beach State Park. Black Point Resource Management, a company owned by the Sprague Corporation, has managed that state park since 1993.

Prior to that year, the state had leased the beach from the Sprague Corporation much the same way it currently leases the property in Crescent Beach State Park. In that case, however, the state owned the right-of-way to the beach.

In 1993, the Sprague Corporation requested a higher rent from the state. Morrison said at the time the state park service couldn’t afford the higher amount, and asked the Sprague Corporation to lease the right-of-way from the state and manage the park.

In 1998, the Sprague Corporation sold the beach property to the state. As part of the term of sale it was agreed the Sprague Corporation would continue to manage the park for a five-year period with an option to extend. In 2003 the terms were extended, allowing Black Point Resource Management to manage the park until 2013.

The company is responsible for the on-site management and operations of Scarborough Beach State Park, but still reports directly to the Bureau of Parks and Lands and adheres to state standards. But an annual membership to all state parks will not get you in to Scarborough Beach.

Sprague said the arrangement has worked pretty well at Scarborough Beach for the past 12 years and thinks it would work well at Crescent Beach. The arrangement wouldn’t cost the state anything, Sprague said: The Sprague Corporation would be leasing the portion of the park it doesn’t own from the state and managing it under state supervision.

“It’s an awkward thing for the bureau to give up management,” Sprague said, because its main role is managing parks. But, while the state would give up direct, on-site management of Crescent Beach State Park, he said, “they would not give up control.”

Morrison said the state is in a better situation than a private company to manage the park because it has “different objectives.” Where a private company’s objective would be financial return, Morrison said, the state park service, which is funded by the state budget, focuses on managing the natural resources and providing recreational opportunities to the public.

The original lease on the Crescent Beach property is still active for five more years, but Morrison said more serious negotiations on the future of the lease need to begin.

Sprague said he understands the bureau does not have as much time as it would like for a problem that’s not immediate, but said the longer they wait the harder it will be to come to an agreement.

Sprague said the corporation was not interested in selling its portion of the park to the state “because it does act as a buffer” between the state park and other land owned by the Sprague Corporation.

Sunbathers at Crescent Beach State Park. The Sprague Corporation wants to manage the park when a state lease on 100 Sprague-owned acres of it expires in 2010.