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News & Features
From the Idyllwild Town Crier weekly newspaper, 10.01.09 edition.
State Parks to remain open
By J.P. Crumrine, News
Editor
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a plan
last Friday to keep all the state parks open.
“After several weeks of analyzing Parks’ initial proposal to achieve
savings in the 2009-10 budget, an alternative solution has been
developed that achieves the necessary savings and avoids full and
complete park closures,” Ruth Coleman, director of the California
Department of Parks and Recreation, wrote to Schwarzenegger’s cabinet
secretary on Thursday, Sept. 24.
In August, following the Legislature’s approval of 2009-2010
budget and additional reductions from the governor’s review of the
final budget, Coleman expected many parks might have to shut their
gates for the winter.
The decision to avoid shutting any park units came about week after a
staff memorandum was leaked that discussed many possible legal problems
which might occur if units were closed.
For example, concessionaires would likely claim the Parks Department is
in breach of contract and the concessionaires would likely be entitled
to the profits they would have received if the units had not been
closed, according to the memorandum.
To generate the savings that prevent any permanent park closing, the
department has agreed to reduce maintenance work for the remainder of
the fiscal year (through June 30, 2010) and eliminate all major
equipment purchases. The resulting savings is estimated to be $12.1
million.
In addition, reducing park hours and days of operation, and reducing
staffing and operations at headquarters will create about $2.1 million
in savings.
Service reductions will vary across the park system. Some units will
close weekdays and open weekends and holidays. In other parks, a
portion of the unit will be closed, such as a remote trail or
campground.
“The service reductions will be planned to minimize disruptions to
visitors, achieve cost savings and maintain park fee revenues,” Coleman
said in her memorandum.
But the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) expressed dismay with
the governor’s action. It characterizes the solution as more financial
deftness than sincere love of the parks.
“This is not an actual restoration of funding for State Parks — in
fact, it is not at all a restoration of funding,” the CSPF release said
Friday. “But CSPF isn’t fully celebrating this news yet. While the
governor has found a clever way to get political cover on this issue,
it’s not clear that this plan won’t actually leave Californians with
just as limited access to their State Parks as if they had been fully
closed.”
A decision or plan to generate ongoing savings of $22.2 million
annually has not been agreed to yet, according to Coleman.
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