Arizona State Parks officials hope this is the year the Legislature gives them some cash to fix up long-neglected facilities.
“We have parks that are falling down,” said Jay Ziemann, assistant State Parks director and the agency’s lobbyist.
The Parks department also needs to comply with a 2004 consent order to fix up water and wastewater facilities that violate environmental regulations.
According to a spreadsheet prepared by the Parks department, the total cost for all needed capital improvements would run close to $190 million. Money like that, however, is not likely to fall into the department’s lap anytime soon, he said.
The department has not had a budget for capital expenses since 2003, Ziemann said.
But this year things are looking up a bit, he added. The governor’s budget provides $6 million for capital projects over the next two fiscal years. That would include $350,000 to repair the leaking roof at the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park lodge, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Another historic building, the courthouse at McFarland State Historic Park, would get $400,000 to repair adobe walls.
“The courthouse… is literally crumbling to the ground,” a parks summary of budget priorities stated.
Another $1.7 million would be allocated to halt river-bank erosion along the Colorado at Buckskin Mountain Park, as well as for new restrooms and showers.
Then there are expenses needed to bring state parks into compliance with a consent order the Parks department entered into with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Drinking water and wastewater facilities in parks throughout the state were found to violate state standards.
Parks officials estimate it would take nearly $7 million to fix the problem, most going for construction costs.
The governor’s two-year capital improvement budget provides for $2.75 million toward compliance with the consent order.