Alabama parks may be in danger

The Latest Local News from the Cherokee County Herald

DeSoto State Park near Fort Payne, Alabama, may be on the chopping block if the Alabama legislature and Gov. Robert Bentley can’t agree on a formula for resolving a $700 million statewide budget shortfall.

Bentley is scheduled to make an appearance at Guntersville State Park in Northeast Alabama on Monday to talk about the funding crisis that is forcing the state to make plans to close four state parks May 1. All told, 15 parks could be shut down within the next 18 months.

Gregory Lein, director of the Alabama State Park system, sent out a letter to state park employees Tuesday notifying them of the intent of the Alabama legislature to transfer $10.4 million from the park system budget in 2016. Lein said the transfer is being proposed to help finance other departments in the state.

Ken Thomas, superintendent of DeSoto State Park , said the park is visited by between 200,000 and 250,000 people a year.

“What do they get here? They get that peace and quiet. They get that feeling of being out in the wild without being in the middle of nowhere,” Thomas said. “We’re not the wilderness but we’re the closest thing you can get to it.”

Rep. Richard Lindsey, D-Centre, said the state has until early June to pass a budget. Bentley has proposed a $700 million tax increase, however Lindsey, a member of the Alabama House for 30 years, said he thinks the chance of that being approved by the legislature is pretty slim. “Most of the legislative leadership has not followed his lead at this point so it remains to be seen what the outcome is going to be,” Lindsey said.

DeSoto State Park, Cheaha State Park and Guntersville State Park would all be slated for closure before the end of 2016. Specific dates have not been determined.

Collier Craft, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said approximately $30 million of the park system’s $37.5 million budget is generated through user fees, with the remainder dependent on state appropriations. Those appropriations are being proposed to be stricken completely. The state budget as proposed also takes another $2 million to $3 million in guest revenue away from the parks system to help prop up the general fund.

Lindsey said the state borrowed money from the state’s oil and gas fund four years ago to plug holes in the budget.

“The economy has not picked up as rapidly as everyone had hoped, so basically, we’re sitting here at the end of those four years, with a big hole in the budget,” Lindsey said.

While the 15 state parks being considered for closure have not consistently made a profit over the last three years, Lindsey said closing them and losing revenue generated at the parks would “absolutely” be counterproductive. “We’ve been kicking the can down the road for a long time, instead of addressing the problem,” Lindsey said.

“It’s hard to fathom what’s going to happen if the park closes,” Thomas said of DeSoto. “Because an actual plan has not been penned, I’m trying to maintain a confidence and faith level that it will all work out.”

Source: Cherokee County Herald

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