Fate of Dworshak State Park threatened
Government, elected officials, and Chamber members hold an emergency meeting to discuss options
An emergency strategy meeting was called Monday, at the Clearwater County Commissioners’ office in Orofino to determine the future and viability of Dworshak State Park and the possibility of closure next spring. The official statement from IDPR is that it is ”premature to discuss a time line. IDPR will continue to operate the park as long as possible.”
The park includes Freeman Creek, Three Meadows Group, and Big Eddy Marina and Lodge. Currently, the marina at Big Eddy and Dworshak park are separate entities. USACE is responsible for running the parking lot, playground, boat ramp, lawns, and water systems. IDPR manages the lodge and the marina. Merrill said that the restaurant and store at the marina are vacant, and “There is no expressed interest in running it.” The building (which is rented out approximately 20 times a year) is also in need of maintenance; the kitchen equipment has been removed. Merrill said, “If it didn’t work before, there is no evidence that it will be profitable again when we can’t afford to hire a Park Manager. They do not want to see an operator go bankrupt if the restaurant were not viable.
Operations
There are 30 parks within the State of Idaho, some are leased; some are managed in partnership with other agencies. Dworshak State Park is owned by the USACE. USACE is in partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation also. With recent budget cuts to the state’s general fund, Dworshak is one of three parks being considered for closure. Hells Gate in Lewiston, and Lucky Peak in Boise are the other two.
Nancy Merrill, Director of Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) said the distinguishing factor (separating these three parks from ones not being closed) is that they have an economic partner – chiefly, the Corps of Engineers. The current management agreement is a 25 year lease agreement which expires June 12, 2014.
Merrill stated, “57% of the budget has been reduced; there are 10 vacant positions in their department. There is a 50 million dollar shortfall in the state’s budget overall.” IDPR has cut many seasonal positions as well as maintenance in parks (such as restroom cleaning, plant watering, and leaf removal) is not done as regularly. “We have already taken care of all the smaller cuts that were possible” she said. “The next thing is to look at cutting services in the park.” Merrill said that the largest part of the budgetary needs is always personnel.
Senator Heinrich said that before any decisions can be made they will need to be presented with a complete breakdown of figures. He said that “Clearwater County used to have wealth through mining and timber industries. Tourism was supposed to replace that as the major income for this area, and that did not prove to be the fact.”
Heinrich said, “We need to apply pressure at the executive level in the state. Two areas which cannot afford to be cut are recreation and economic development.” At the request of Senator Heinrich, Merrill offered to provide exact budgetary figures – income vs. expenditures and operational costs.
Former State Senator, Marguerite McLaughlin also requested that Orofino, and other concerned parties, be provided with the solutions and ideas which other parks are formulating.
Funding shortfall
Funding of $150,000, which was to be allocated for a wave attenuator at Big Eddy, was also cut from the budget approximately three weeks ago. There is a short fall of $145,000 in the budget for operational expenses. Approximately $300,000 is needed overall. Merrill said this is the amount of money that would be saved by the State if the park were closed. IDPR is responsible return monies to state out of their fiscal budget.
The question was raised whether an increase in moorage fees would help. David White, North Regional Manager IDPR, said fees could be increased, but that would not be very significant considering the shortfall.
Merrill said, “We are right at the caps on user fees now. Any further increases would have to be passed by state legislature, which is not eager to raise fees. It also raises concerns that higher fees make it more difficult for low income residents to have equal usage of the resources.”
Todd Czarnecki, Chief of real estate for the Corps (Walla Walla District), said they look forward to partnering with other agencies in finding solutions to keep the park open. They are willing to look at the problem on a “site specific basis and to keep options open. USACE does not have the budget and would have to close the parks” [if they were turned over today].
Officially, the State is required to give USACE a year’s notice to vacate. “A letter has been received concerning IDPR’s present status, but not an official notice that they would vacate” said Czarnecki. If they were unable to maintain the park, IDPR would be released from their lease and USACE would try to find other lessees. Czarnecki said, “IDPR should be able to pull out of the lease.” Czarnecki said they are open to all options such as private concessionaires, or the existing lease going to a different entity or sub-lessee.
Merrill said, “We are willing to look at everything and hear from everyone, but the time line is very short to move forward.” She said, “The opportunities are here, but there is a set time to work on it.
Budget
The 2008 fiscal year budget for Dworshak was $390,256. The operational costs, FY08 for the marina were $96,700. A large portion of that was fuel which is sold. In 2008, they sold $50,000 to $60,000 in fuel. Dworshak’s revenue for FY08 was $291,692.
Personnel
The FY09-10 budget for personnel is $145,000. The personnel budget for FY2010 would include $110,000 for seasonal and $155,000 for classified employees. Potential jobs effected would be three full time and 1 seasonal employee. The Park Manager position is currently vacant.
Merrill said that Lucky Peak breaks even; it is considered a “revenue neutral” state park. The marina at Dworshak is pretty close to breaking even. When there is a budgetary overflow from a park, it goes to help the other parks in the system. Dworshak had less visitors and more costs associated with it according to officials. Dworshak averages approximately 121,000 visitors per year. Dave White, North Region Manager IDPR, said those counts are based on Freeman Creek. Boaters who put in at Big Eddy access the USACE access point and don’t get counted.
Besides raising moorage fees, some of the ideas brought up were a card-lock system for fuel, similar to what is being done at Hells Gate. Paul Pence said that state law prohibits dispensing fuel over water and that it is a function that is required to be manned. Merrill said that they could not move forward with a private concessionaire until and unless the $145,000 shortfall were met first.
When asked if there is a mechanism in place to allocate the funds (if funds were found) to Dworshak State Park, Merrill said that there are vehicles such as trusts and endowments to parks whereby monies could be channeled specifically for that usage.
Merrill was optimistic and said, “Every idea may add up to keeping the park going. It is a real opportunity for federal, state, county, and city governments to dig in and come up with solutions. It would set precedence for the private sector and government to work together. If we can’t take care of the short term need,” she said, “the long term solutions will be lost.” Merrill suggested that officials stay in contact with U.S. Senator Crapo, State Senator Heinrich, county commissioners, city officials, and the public to open channels for immediate solutions.
Other officials present at the meeting were Clearwater County Commissioners; a representative from Senator Crapo’s office; the Mayor of Orofino; members of Orofino City Council; the Sheriff’s Department; Clearwater Economic Development; and the Orofino Chamber of Commerce.
Next Meeting
Another meeting has been set for Monday, Nov. 9. Mayor Ryan Smathers offered the council chambers if space at the Courthouse is not available.