A strong session for parks

One of the things metro area residents prize most is our system of regional parks and trails. The 53,000-acre system provides abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation and preserves vital natural areas for future generations.

Despite the massive state budget shortfall, the 2009 Legislature provided a substantial increase in funding to maintain and enhance these regional treasures, which attract more than 33 million visitors each year.

That’s due largely to voter ratification last year of the Legacy Amendment, which raised the state sales tax by three-eighths of one percent and earmarked a portion of the revenues for regional park purposes.

Here’s a recap of the funding approved for 2010-11:

• Park operations and maintenance: $17.8 million from the general fund and lottery proceeds, an increase of 3% over the previous biennium.
• Park land acquisition: $4.1 million from state lottery proceeds and the Legacy Amendment, an increase of 1.6% over the previous biennium.
• But here’s the big windfall: $24.9 million for capital improvements in our parks, thanks to the Legacy Amendment. This likely will be supplemented next year by the state bonding bill, which typically provides around $10 million for park capital improvements.

The capital improvement dollars will be used to fund new park and trail facilities, rehabilitate existing facilities, and enhance visitor services.

This may well have been the best legislative session for regional parks since the system was first created by lawmakers in 1974.

Peter Bell

June 2009