Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

February 14, 2008

Commissioner Carol Ash Testimony Before The Joint Fiscal Committees of the State Legislature

FY2008-09 Executive Budget

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

February 12, 2008

Senate Finance Chair Johnson and Assembly Ways and Means Chair Farrell, thank you for the opportunity to be with you today to discuss Governor Spitzer's proposed budget for State Parks for FY2008-09. Thank you also Senator Rath and Assemblyman Englebright, Chairs of the Tourism Committees, and Senator Marcellino and Assemblyman Sweeney, Chairs of the Environmental Conservation Committees, as well as other committee members here today.

I am joined this morning by Andy Beers, our Executive Deputy Commissioner, and Pete Finn, our Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration, as well as other members of our Executive Team.

Our park system consists of 178 State Parks and 35 Historic Sites and is widely recognized as one of the finest in the Nation. With more than 55 million visitors annually, we are third in total annual visitation. Among the fifty states, we rank first in the number of operating facilities and, when campgrounds operated by the DEC are included with ours, first in the total number of campsites. The system totals 325,000 acres of lands and waters, making New York fifth in total acreage.

Niagara Falls is the oldest state park in the nation and Washington's Headquarters is the first publicly-owned state historic site. The Hugh Carey Empire State Games - now celebrating 31 years - is the first amateur athletic competition of its kind in the nation. And the Bethpage Black is the first publicly-owned golf course to host the U.S. Open Golf Championship, which will return there next year.

For more than a century, New York has invested in developing world-class recreational and interpretive facilities in our State Parks and Historic Sites. Today, our agency is responsible for managing a huge inventory of public facilities including 5,000 buildings, 29 golf courses, 53 swimming pools, 76 beaches, 27 marinas, 40 boat launch sites, 18 nature centers, 817 cabins, 8,355 campsites, more than 1,350 miles of trails, 106 dams, 640 bridges, hundreds of miles of roads, and dozens of historic structures listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

Over the past year, I've toured all eleven park regions, visiting more than 100 of our State Parks and Historic Sites. I've been amazed and awed by the beauty and diversity of the parks system. It truly is one of New York's great public assets.

However, my travels have also revealed a very troubling problem: our State Parks face huge capital investment needs. Simply stated, the State Parks system is suffering from decades of underinvestment, with the result that our recreational facilities and infrastructure are in dire need of rehabilitation and replacement. Many parks have significant health and safety concerns that require immediate attention. Our park buildings and infrastructure are aging and deteriorating, diminishing the outdoor experience for the more than 55 million people who come to our parks every year. Furthermore, many of our newest acquisitions lack basic amenities and recreational facilities that would allow the public to fully enjoy these new parks.

To develop a comprehensive understanding of the size and scope this challenge, last year I initiated a statewide review to document the capital improvement needs. While this assessment is still ongoing, to date we have identified more than $650 million of high priority projects. These needs fall into four categories - health and safety; rehabilitation of existing facilities; development of new facilities; and natural resource stewardship - each of which I will briefly describe.

1. Health and Safety Projects. Many of our State Parks face significant public health and safety issues. We have outdated drinking water systems that need to be replaced. We have aging sewage treatment systems that have well exceeded their useful life. We have dams on the state's "high hazard" list that do not meet modern safety standards, and bridges that have been flagged as potential hazards. We have failing electrical systems and bulkheads that are corroded. And we have landfills that, although inactive for many years, were never closed to DEC standards.
2. Rehabilitation of Existing Facilities. This is our largest category of need, comprising approximately 65% of OPHRP's total backlog. It encompasses capital rehabilitation of existing infrastructure in the Parks and Historic Sites - replacing facilities that have long exceeded their practical and operational effectiveness and are in various stages of disrepair. These include roofs, heating and plumbing systems, contact stations, campgrounds, boat launches, picnic shelters, recreation fields, pools, swimming areas, visitor centers, bathrooms, roads, parking areas, hiking trails, and maintenance centers. It also includes a significant backlog of repair and maintenance needs for historic buildings and structures at our Historic Sites, as well as energy-efficiency investments in aging buildings.
3. New Facilities Development. Capital investments also are needed to develop new parks acquired over the last 15 years and to meet changing public demands. Many of our "new parks" consist of a sign, a car pull-off, and little else. Investments are needed to create entrance areas, parking areas, restrooms, trail systems, and picnic and swimming areas, to make these new acquisitions available to the public and assets to their communities.
4. Natural Resource Stewardship. The State Parks' natural resources - plants, wildlife, and ecosystems - face varied threats, such as pollution of lakes and rivers, impaired wetlands, invasive species, soil erosion, and global warming. We have identified a number of park-specific projects to restore habitats and ecosystems needed to assure that natural resources in the State Parks remain "unimpaired for future generations."

Let me emphasize that these findings are not a criticism of State Parks staff. To the contrary, we are fortunate to have a highly dedicated, hard-working staff of 2,240 men and women - many of whom have dedicated their careers to the State Parks System. Within the resources provided to the agency, our staff has done an admirable job of keeping our facilities open and serving the public. Our State Parks and Historic Sites remain beautiful places - accessible and affordable to all New Yorkers who want to enjoy nature, take a hike, pitch a tent, have a picnic, throw around a baseball, or learn about our history and environment.

But while the challenges facing the State Parks and Historic Sites systems have grown, our capital budget has not. Over the past 15 years, the size of our system expanded from 184 sites in 1992, to 213 today - an increase of 29 new facilities. The lands and waters under our stewardship went from 257,000 acres in 1992 to 326,000 acres today - an increase of 27%.

But over this same period, our capital budget was cut. Our actual capital expenditures in 1992 were $60 million. Last year, our capital expenditures from all sources were $45 million. Adjusted for inflation, our capital budget today buys 50% less than it did in 1992.

Let me reiterate this. Over the past 15 years the State Parks system expanded by 27%, including 29 new parks, and yet our capital budget, adjusted for inflation, has been reduced by half. The State Parks Infrastructure Fund - which is the primary source of capital funding for our agency - has been $30 million annually, measured against a capital backlog of $650 million. The impact on the ground is obvious - for too long, we have underinvested in our State Parks and Historic Sites, and they are showing it.

Last fall, Governor Spitzer recognized the magnitude of the issues facing our State Parks, and at his request I am developing a comprehensive plan to revitalize New York's State Parks and Historic Sites. This initiative will include three central elements:

• At the state level, a multi-year plan is needed to address the large backlog of capital projects facing our parks. This problem developed over several decades. It will require a sustained state funding commitment to solve.
• The federal government must also be a partner in this effort. Federal funding for State Parks projects has all but disappeared. This year, New York State's allocation from the primary source of federal parks funding - the Land & Water Conservation Fund - is only $1.2 million. This is down from a high of $23 million in 1979. We must work closely with our Congressional delegation to increase funds allocated to New York from the LWCF and other federal programs.
• While New York State will be the primary source of capital funds, we are increasing our efforts to raise private contributions - from private individuals, foundations, Friends Groups, and interested corporations. Our State Parks and Historic Sites have benefitted from more than a century of private philanthropic support. The Chair of our State Council of Parks, Lucy Rockefeller Waletzky, is leading our enhanced private fundraising efforts.

I am extremely gratified that the Governor's Executive Budget takes the critical first step to launch this initiative. The Executive Budget provides $100 million in new funding for the State Parks Infrastructure Fund to launch our Revitalization program. Governor Spitzer's $100 million commitment is the single largest capital investment in the history of the New York State Park System.

In addition, next year State Parks will access $47.2 million in capital funding from other sources, including federal grant funds, mitigation projects, legislative grants, and private contributions. All told, State Parks will advance $147.2 million in capital projects to contracting and construction and over the coming year.

I have attached a detailed list of Fiscal Year 2008-09 projects, organized by our eleven park regions, that will be advanced through the Governor's State Parks Revitalization initiative. A total of 295 projects are programmed for the coming year. The projects address the agency's highest priority capital needs. The list includes a strong emphasis on public health and safety, as well as rehabilitation of deteriorated park and historic site facilities. Construction activities include: 34 projects to modernize drinking water, sewer, and electric systems; 65 building repair projects; 53 park roads and bridges projects; 25 projects to rehabilitate recreational facilities; and 10 projects to repair pools and playgrounds.

Within each regional list, projects listed under the heading "Construction FY2008-09" will be advanced during the coming year. Projects under the heading "Designs To Be Completed FY2008-09" will be designed during the coming year, to be ready for construction in future years. The cost estimates were developed by State Parks engineering staff. The final cost for each project will be determined through the state's normal state competitive bidding and contracting processes.

We are extremely excited that the Governor has embraced this $100 million investment to Revitalize our State Parks and Historic Sites, and I ask your support for this initiative.

Let me briefly touch on several other important items in the Governor's budget. The recommended FY2008-09 budget for State Parks includes $219 million for State Operations, and $15 million for Aid to Localities. Key elements of the agency's operating budget include:

Increased funding to pay for 32 new staff positions and associated costs to operate new and expanded parks, including: Gantry Plaza in Queens, East River State Park in Brooklyn, Clay Pit Ponds Preserve in Staten Island; Nissequogue River and Jamesport State Parks on Long Island, and Minnewaska State Park and the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor located at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site. The new positions will also support the creation of a permanent State Park Police Training Academy at the former Camp Cass facility in Albany County.

Funding for increases in fixed costs to operate the parks.

In addition, Governor Spitzer has proposed a $250 million Environmental Protection Fund that includes:

$21.2 million for municipal parks and historic preservation grants to local governments and non-profits, including $6.7 million for inner city and underserved areas. Local governments and non-profits are key partners in providing recreational and historic preservation opportunities to all New Yorkers.

$66 million for Open Space Acquisition (which we share with DEC), which is the sole source of funding available to the agency for parkland purchases. Open space acquisitions are often once-in-a-generation opportunities to create new recreational options for the public, conserve an important environmental or historic resource, or provide a buffer to protect existing State Parks from encroaching development.

The creation of new capacity building programs ($500,000 each), administered by Parks and Trails New York and the Preservation League of New York State, to create a competitive grant program to strengthen not-for-profit organizations. These initiatives are modeled after the highly-successful Land Trust Alliance grant program established in the EPF six years ago.

$150,000 to continue the operations of the Niagara River Greenway Commission.

Continued funding for many other important programs including $5 million for state lands stewardship; $8.5 million for Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquariums; $46.3 million for farmland protection and agricultural programs; $1.5 million for biodiversity; $4 million for invasive species initiatives; $4 million for the Oceans and Great Lakes Council; $2 million for the Albany Pine Bush Commission; and $2.5 million for smart growth projects.

The Governor again proposes to expand New York's existing bottle bill to include non-carbonated beverages, and to capture the unclaimed nickels on unredeemed containers. This will generate more than $100 million annually in future years for environmental protection programs. It is time for New York State to update the bottle bill program and claim the millions of dollars generated by unredeemed containers.

Finally, the Governor's budget includes several funding items for the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial, including: $3 million in EPF funds to support Quadricentennial events and projects; and $8 million to transform the abandoned Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge into a world class park and pedestrian Walkway that will link extensive public trails on the east and west shores of the Hudson River.

In closing, I again ask your support in enacting the $100 million investment in restoring the State Park System. I am fully aware of the challenging financial climate. Nonetheless, I support the Governor's conclusion that restoring our parks is a sound economic investment for New York State. Parks can make a major contribution to revitalizing local communities across the state. Quality of life and livable communities are major drivers in attracting and retaining businesses, large and small. And first-class recreational opportunities also play an important role in encouraging young people to put down roots in our communities.

In addition, recreational and heritage tourism are major components of our state's economy, particularly throughout upstate New York. In fact a survey undertaken this past summer indicates that nearly eighty percent of park visitors to our parks participate in dining, shopping, or recreational activities outside the park during a park visit.

And, finally, investment in parks capital projects will create engineering and construction-related jobs, many involving small and medium-sized local businesses. We are prepared - to quickly put out to bid - construction, roofing, plumbing, electrical, and virtually every other type of building project at 101 Parks and Historic Sites across the state.

We can't afford not to make this investment in our State Parks. Governor Spitzer's Executive Budget meets the challenge head-on. I greatly appreciate the Legislature's past support for State Parks, and I urge your approval of Governor Spitzer's recommended budget for the coming year.

Thank you.