October 23, 2009 - Arizona's state parks system is in dire straits and needs $200 million worth of delayed maintenance and improvements, according to a report from Arizona State University's Institute for Public Policy. Grady Gammage Jr., a senior fellow at the institute, said parks are critical to Arizona and the state needs to find the money to take care of them. "These are remarkable things that make Arizona special and make people feel attached to Arizona, but we're allowing them to collapse," Gammage said.
He said the budget for the 31 state parks has been cut to literally nothing, and the parks are deteriorating rapidly. "There are walls collapsing. There are sewage systems in the parks that are not compliant with legal requirements. Those kinds of things are not being taken care of."
Renee Bahl, director of Arizona State Parks, said operations at 17 state parks have been reduced to five days a week. Four parks -- Jerome, McFarland, Oracle and San Rafael -- have been closed entirely .
"We're moving toward the total collapse of the park system," said Bill Meek, a member of the Governor's Sustainable State Parks Task Force.
The Morrison Institute suggested one way to fund the parks would be through an optional $10 to $15 fee on Arizona license plates. Those who chose to pay the fee would get free admission to state parks for a year.
"Every citizen of Arizona with an Arizona state license plate could enter state parks for maybe $10 to $15 a year," said Bill Scalzo, chairman of the Arizona Parks Baord. "That is the greatest deal I've ever seen for public parks."
Dr. Byron Schlomach of the Goldwater Institute said he believes there are better solutions than a state fee of some kind. "I'm talking about even contracting out, having an entire park, run by a private entity," said Schlomach. The Morrison Institute disagrees, saying public parks are best managed by the government.
