Park problems? What problems?
We’re a new blog and thus by definition, new to this ongoing issue of funding state parks. The B and B blog is a good place to start for a general overview of the issue. And while I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel with regard to this issue, I am still stunned that Perry is worried about TPWD being able to spend more money wisely. A quick websearch brought up some of the possible uses for increased funding.
Our parks still haven’t recovered from Hurricane Rita.
News 8 Austin | 24 Hour Local News | LOCAL NEWS | Coastal parks still reeling from Hurricane Rita
Several state employees were doing the same thing, not just in their homes but at their parks as well. Ten Texas Parks and Wildlife Department sites were damaged by Hurricane Rita including state parks, historic sites and wildlife management areas.
Some parks still aren’t open. Gene Cox spends part of each day explaining to people why Sea Rim State Park is still closed, more than a year after Hurricane Rita blew through East Texas.
“Our water plant has been damaged and our wastewater plant has been damaged so there’s no water facilities at all,” Cox said.
And even the ones that didn’t experience Rita weren’t in great shape.
Star-Telegram | 12/25/2006 | Budget increase expected for state’s parks
A Star-Telegram investigation found inoperable vehicles, shuttered facilities and reduced services throughout the 600,000-acre system. The problems accrued, along with a long maintenance backlog, during a decade in which lawmakers redirected millions of dollars originally dedicated to parks for other purposes.
Privatization isn’t the answer.
Waxahachie Daily Light - Sports - Texas Parks and Wildlife Top Stories
And, late in the year, as a result of unexpected oil and gas revenues, TPWD announced its intention to keep the Texas State Railroad running through August 2007, providing time to explore long-term options for the costly historic train, including a proposal to transfer it to local or private control.
Can’t you just see it, the AT&T railroad? However, the Enron Battleship Texas might be appropriate.
STATE NEWS | KHOU.com | News for Houston, Texas
A little more than 16 years ago the Texas triumphantly returned after more than a year in dry dock. She had $15 million worth of repairs but even that only replaced about 35 percent of her plating.
“For about the cost of one dry docking cycle we can get her out of the water permanently and save her for future generations while simultaneously saving the state of Texas over the decades,†Barry Ward said.
STATE NEWS | KHOU.com | News for Houston, Texas
“I would have to say we’re on a downward spiral,†Bartel said. “The maintenance, keeping up with the maintenance, repairs of our facilities has gotten worse over the years.â€
But back aboard the aging warship where 300,000 visitors come each year, no one would consider a surrender.
Pushing it off to local government isn’t fair, it’s just an excuse to not have to deal with the issue and let the developers control our future.
Star-Telegram | 12/25/2006 | Budget increase expected for state’s parks
Providing more controversy for the Legislature is Eagle Mountain Lake, the 400-acre Texas Parks and Wildlife Department property that for years has been coveted by Tarrant County developers. During a news conference in September, Gov. Rick Perry announced a deal in principle to preserve the lake property as parkland by selling it to the Tarrant Regional Water District.
Not that anyone in Texas cares about how we rank nationally, (just look at our education system), we are at the bottom in terms of parks.
Texas ranks 49th in the country in per capita spending for parks, according to a report issued last summer by the State Park Advisory Committee. The report recommended that lawmakers annually appropriate $25 million for major repairs in state parks, $25 million for local parks, $15 million for park road maintenance and $15 million to acquire and develop new parks.
Maybe someone should bring this to the Governor’s Business Council for study. What’’s amazing is that this is a resource used by all Texans, not just those of a certain age or of a certain income bracket. And Perry still doesn’t get it.
More than 10 million people visit Texas state parks each year, generating an estimated $793 million in sales in local restaurants, hotels and other businesses, according to last year’s report.
You even have a Perryman report on the economic importance of parks.
Odessa American Online: Serving the Permian Basin of West Texas
On a local level, loss of the state’s matching funds for parks development and improvement “will put that burden on the local taxpayers,†said Steve Patton, director of the Odessa Parks and Recreation Department.
Speaking from his office in Waco, Perryman said the report shows the “positive impacts of local parks on the state and what they do in terms of promoting tourism.â€
The Texas Tourism board has estimated that tourism is the second largest contributor to the state economy, “directly supporting 468,000 jobs with earning of $11.7 billion annually.â€
The Perryman report also noted that “the incremental net fiscal revenue to the state government from local parks activity is approximately $171.6 million per year or almost seven times the level of funding proposed by a recent task force.â€
Between 1990 and 2003, the budget for state parks decreased by 34 percent even though total spending for services was up by 68 percent, the report indicated.
The Texas Recreation and Parks Account, which funds grants to cities to help develop local parks, was reduced from $20 million to $15.5 million per year during the 78th Legislature and to $5.6 million by the 79th Legislature.
Not that I think much of Perryman’s economic anaylsis, but if it’s good enough for the Trans Texas Corridor, it should be good enough for the parks.
However, I think I’ve found the problem with funding the parks. One of the commissioners is from San Antonio and we know how much San Antonioans value their park space.
If the bond wins approval, the city’s parks department would get a revenue boost that would more than double the amount ever allocated to it. But city officials say that’s not enough to address both the priorities already outlined by the city and needs residents are identifying during the hearings.”
The money is simply not going to be there,” Zanoni said.
Soccer has become the leading youth-participation sport in the U.S., far outpacing baseball, football and basketball.
Austin has 315 youth soccer fields, more than five times the 58 fields here; Houston has more than 400 youth soccer facilities; Dallas has more than 350.
Basically, people in San Antonio are worried that someone else might get more use out of the parks then they would personally. I’m suprised that baseball parents haven’t come out in protest yet.
Of course, it’s not fair to blame the situation on just one person. This is a problem that has been growing for years.
Governor to fill four spaces on Parks and Wildlife commission
Through 13 years of Bush or Perry appointments, the commission has devolved into a board that seems more determined not to attract attention to the Parks and Wildlife Department or toss criticism at the governor’s office than to create a vital environment for discussion and debate on issues affecting wildlife and people.
I guess the Perry-approved committee didn’t get the message.
Governor to fill four spaces on Parks and Wildlife commission
This fall, a Perry-approved committee recommended expanding the department’s allocation from the state’s Sporting Goods Sales Tax.
What’s the point of all this rambling? These reports come from all over the state: Waxahachie, Odessa, Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin. This isn’t a bunch “do gooder liberals” from Austin whinning about their bike trails. These are people from around the state that use the parks to hunt and fish. These are people from small towns where the local economy is dependent on the parks. So why is Perry balking now?
Exactly what 100% of Texans is he representing? Who would object to spending more money on parks? This is Perry’s chance to demonstrate that he’s an astute politician after all and realize that this one campaign promise he needs to make good on. Or he prove again that there really isn’t much else to him besides the “good hair” and hot air. After all, Texas is a “state of mind” which is a good thing because if you leave it up to Perry, there won’t be any thing physical left to share.
Technorati Tags: Texas Parks and Wildlife, TPWD, Texas, Rick Perry, Sporting Goods Tax, Parks funding, Harvey Hilderbran, Eagle Mountain Lake, Texas State Railroad, Battleship Texas
Filed under: Battleship Texas, Eagle Mountain Lake, Harvey Hilderbran, Rick Perry, Sporting goods tax, TPWD, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas State Railroad, parks funding, texas
