Plan keeps parks open, but trims staff

The tidy restrooms and well-maintained grounds that visitors expect at Panhandle state parks could be a thing of the past as more budget cuts hit the park system this season.

A tighter budget, estimated at $7 million less than last year, could result in fewer staff on the ground at parks across the state, and could include Priest Lake, Round Lake and Farragut State Park, Steve Klatt, who represents Region 1 on the state parks board, said.

The budget cuts are the second punch that Idaho Parks and Recreation will absorb. It lost 30 percent of its part-time seasonal help — the workhorse of the system — last year, Klatt said.

“What the impact will be, I don’t know,” he said. “It will be more noticeable at smaller parks.”

Although, the Idaho Senate budget committee is still in the process of hearing from state agencies pushing to recoup as much of their former budgets as possible, the parks director compiled a business plan with a provision to keep all of Idaho’s 30 state parks open next fiscal year.

Fiscal year 2011 begins June 30.

In addition, the director’s plan hearkens back to the old school notion of pitching in, said state Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, vice chair of the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee.

“It asks the communities around those parks for more volunteer support,” Keough said. “We’re in one of our worst budget years ever in the history of the state.”

Volunteers could be asked to help with simple tasks such as cutting grass, or tidying up the premises because time spent on grounds maintenance will likely decrease if parks lose staff, Klatt said.

“Getting the restrooms cleaned, the lawn mowed,” he said. “Things that lower the standards a little bit than what we come to expect at our state parks.”

In their effort to meet budget shortfalls the Idaho Parks and Recreation’s six board members proposed closing a state park in southeastern Idaho, and drop its staffing at Dworshak State Park. The state wanted to turn the park over to cash-strapped Clearwater County.

After meeting stiff opposition to closing Dworshak, the board decided to leave all the parks open, but reduce field staff across the entire system by 11 fulltime employees.

The staff cuts might seem like a drop in the bucket, Klatt said, but the rings will be felt at parks across the state.

“We don’t have the extra bodies,” he said. “What it comes down to is a reduction of services.”

Priest Lake has three fulltime staff members, Farragut State Park has eight, Round Lake, two, and six fulltime members work at Heyburn State Park in Benewah County, according to the state.

More than 320,000 people used Farragut State Park last year.

“It’s one of our biggest and probably in the top two busiest parks in the state,” David White, Park and Recreation’s north Idaho field bureau chief, said.

More than 200,000 people flocked to Priest Lake’s state parks and campgrounds in 2009, and Round Lake saw 81,000 users.

Visitors pony up $5 to enter state parks, up from $4 a year earlier, and campers pay from $9 to $22 depending on the site.

User fees make up a portion of park and recreation’s estimated $31 million budget and are used for operation and minor maintenance, according to the agency’s Web site.

Those fees aren’t anticipated to take a hike this coming fiscal year, but users could see an increase next year, Keough said.

“Those charges might go up, but not right now,” she said. “The cost is $5 to access a park, which is very, very, very reasonable.”