GOOD NEWS FOR TEXAS PARKS MAY BE ON WAY

By Ella Tyler

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s 2005 proposal to sell 46,000 acres of Big Bend State Park called the public’s attention to the state parks funding crisis in a way that broken showers, staff shortages, and dilapidated buildings did not.

In 2006, the parks budget shortfall was even more critical, leading to staff lay-offs, cuts in hours that parks were open, curtailment of programs, especially for youth, and the transfer of some state parks to other entities. More than half of our state parks cut services. TPW stopped making any grants for city and county parks.

However, 2006 may have been a turning point for state park fortunes. TPW Commission chair Joseph Fitzsimmons created a state parks advisory committee to assist the agency in developing ideas to address the shortfall in the funding of state and local parks, and named former state senator John Montford as chair of the committee. After several months of deliberation and review of current funding, the committee recommended allocating at least $85 million more each year to meet the ongoing needs of the state park system, including $20 million for local park grants. Parks and Wildlife commissioners adopted this proposed budget for submission to the legislature.

Also, two studies were commissioned showing the economic value of state and local parks.

The study of the economic impact of state parks showed that 13 of the 28 reasons out-of-state visitors choose to visit Texas are state park experiences; that 10 million park visitors spend money in local communities, generating over $1.45 billion in economic activity annually; and that state parks visitor expenditures support over 14,000 jobs in Texas.

The study of the economic impact of local parks, released this past Wednesday, Jan 31, shows that the incremental net fiscal revenue to state government from local parks’ activity is more than $170 million each year.

The first step in achieving an appropriation to meet this ambitious $85 million parks budget request is allowing all of the revenue from the sporting goods tax, intended to be the funding stream for parks, actually to be used for parks. Currently only $32 million in revenue from the sporting goods tax may be used for parks, even though the tax (which is not a separate tax, just the sales tax from the sale of certain sporting goods) is expected to generate more than $100 million in FY 2008. Ironically, in the last budget, only $20 million of sporting goods tax funds were appropriated. User fees and taxes contributed a majority of the current budget for state parks.

House Bill 6, enabling legislation to remove the cap on the “Sporting Goods Tax”, was filed by state representative Harry Harvey Hilderbran (R-Kerrville) early in January. Currently, the bill has more than 100 co-authors. Because this is a tax bill, the house must act on it before the senate can consider the bill.

More good news in the local park funding area came Wednesday from state representative Garnett Coleman and state senator Mario Gallegos, who announced a $400,000 grant to the City of Houston for Sims Woods Park in southeast Houston. The grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will help buy 27.3 acres to develop the park, including a nature trail, wetlands boardwalk, bird blinds, and other facilities. The funds will assist the City in acquiring, developing, and improving land around Sims Woods Park, Sims Woods Conservation Area, and the Harris County Flood Control District along Sims Bayou.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission also approved a grant to the city of Hempstead to help fund construction of a 9,100-square-foot recreation center in the eastern part of the city.

There will be a bus trip to Austin to for lobby for “Support Your Parks Day” on Thursday, March 8. The trip planned for January was cancelled due to icy conditions. To sign up, contact Diane Schenke at the Park People, (713)942-7275. Although House Bill 6 seems assured of passage, it is only the first step toward securing sufficient funding for state parks.