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A proposal is under consideration to turn the hills of Little Bennett Regional Park into the first formal snow-tubing site in Montgomery County.

An undisclosed company has asked the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission to consider a public-private partnership to allow snow tubing on the park's golf course.

The proposal was not solicited, said John E. Hench, chief of the Park Planning and Stewardship Division of the Department of Parks.

Parks department officials would not release the name of the company that submitted the proposal, saying any solicitations are reviewed by staff to see if they are viable before asking for public comments.

At the request of Friends of Little Bennett, Terry Brooks, chief of the Special Program Division of the Department of Parks, will describe the process used for reviewing an unsolicited proposal at a meeting July 8.

The meeting is designed to discuss the process, not the merits of the proposal.

"There will be ample opportunity for people to comment if the internal review finds the project has merit," Brooks said.

However, the president of Friends of Little Bennett is looking closely at the idea.

"In addition to several potentially negative environmental impacts on the very special and fragile Little Bennett ecosystem, the facility would draw thousands of additional visitors to the course during the normally quiet winter months," Lou Sousa, president of Friends of Little Bennett, wrote in an e-mail to the group announcing the meeting.

This would be a violation of the park master plan, which states the park should be maintained in a natural state, he wrote.

The parks department is checking to see whether the proposal complies with the master plan for the park and on park environmental policies, as well as whether snow tubing would be compatible with the site, Brooks said.

The department will also check if the company is capable of delivering on the proposal, he said.

Existing public-private partnerships include the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds and Red Wiggler Community Farm in Clarksburg.

Hench wondered about how the snow-tubing facility would make snow.

"It's been many years since we've been able to maintain any snow cover on the ground," he said. "If you're making snow, you need a source of water."

The golf course uses an irrigation pond to water the grass and wells for potable water, Hench said. A Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission line runs along the southern end of the park, he added.

The snow-tubing facility would need a permit to use the irrigation pond and a state permit to irrigate, and would need a ground-water appropriation permit to use water from the creek or the pond, Hench said. The permitting process is a public process with hearings, he said.

Brooks chairs a public-private partnership review committee that looks into proposals that staff finds worth considering. The committee includes the director of the Department of Parks, two deputy directors, the executive director of the Montgomery Parks Foundation, park managers, lawyers and Park Police. He expects the committee's decision by the end of July.

If the proposal has merit, the Parks Department will hold a public meeting. That will not be earlier than September, he said. The next step would be a hearing at the Planning Board, where the public could also testify.

Friends of Little Bennett will hear about the process for approving an unsolicited proposal to allow snow tubing at Little Bennett Regional Park at 7 p.m. July 8 at Hawks Reach Activity Center in the park, 23701 Frederick Road in Clarksburg.