Park funds may be usurped to make room for other “essential government programs” in the state’s General Fund
At the end of a narrow, winding and wooded road through 696-acre Chewacla State Park, a group of approximately 50 park-goers, pedestrian and mountain bikers alike, gathered for the Rally for Alabama State Parks. The rally, sponsored by Alabama State Parks Partners Coalition, began with community members and park visitors gathering around a pavilion. The rally at Chewacla was the third in a series: rallies were also held at Monte Sano State Park, near Huntsville, and at Oak Mountain State Park, near Birmingham.
The early-arriving rally guests were greeted by a cheerful mountain biker, wearing a fluorescent green helmet, handing out fliers with the names and numbers of state representatives. Once the crowd had gathered, Auburn City Council member Ron Anders stood up to speak on behalf of Mayor Bill Ham. Anders set the stage for the following speakers by defining the meaning of the rally, saying, “It’s to rally support for the great activities and a great function of this park and the great meaning that it has to Auburn at large.”
“We need places like this that we can come to relax, that we can blow off steam to spend time with family and friends and create memories for a lifetime,” Anders said.
Philip Darden, president of Central Alabama Mountain Peddlers (CAMP) and chair of Alabama Parks Partners, took the mic after Anders.
CAMP is an official International Mountain Biking Associations and volunteer organization involved in maintaining Chewacla State Park. Anders referred to CAMP as “a wonderful model of how the citizen engagement should go with the city.”
CAMP is wholly responsible for contributing 5000 hours of volunteer service and establishing 26 miles of biking and hiking trail.
“Money is a big thing, but also a big thing is those intangibles — what happens on a day to day basis in our state parks," Darden said. "How people come here and enjoy their time, enjoy the parks and what they have to offer, be it that you are enjoying the trail, you’re enjoying the lakes, you’re enjoying our beaches, you’re enjoying the mountain bike."
However, the value of the park to Alabama constituents was not the only point to be made by rally speakers.The impeding state budget decisions, while the State legislature stands in its second special session, threaten to transfer 12 million dollars of the State Parks’ funding to the State’s general fund.
According to both Darden and Greg Lein, director of State Parks, 30 million dollars, originally intended or earmarked for Alabama State Parks, has been redirected to the general fund over the last four years.
“It’s gotten so bad, to where they are actually invading our revolving fund where our guest’s money goes," Lein said. "That’s the money you pay to get in this park, that is the money we use to run this park, and now they want to take that and send it to the general fund to fund some other essential form of state government, and we believe that is an affront to you, that’s an affront to us. It inhibits our ability to serve the public."
Lein illustrated the possible consequence of the State Legislature’s plan to cut the Park budget.
“There’s the very real possibility that these transfers will overdraw our cash balance and collapse the financing of the park system this winter,” he said.
Similarly, Darden said, “It could potentially bring a downfall to our entire system: that’s all of our parks.”
The focus on timeliness and responsibility for community action to influence the state budget cuts was apparent at Saturday’s Rally for Alabama State Parks. Along with delineating the state budget cuts that loom over the park’s financial future and exposing the benefits that the park system provides the Auburn-Opelika community, the speakers of the rally insisted that residents speak out against the diminishing of Park funds, before the vote is in.
“The budget year starts Oct. 1, and the state of Alabama still does not have a budget for its government programs,” Lein said. “They are moving fast in Montgomery. The Senate receives the House bill this week, and it can be over by Friday.”
As frequent visitors to Chewacla State Park, the rally’s message is applicable to Auburn University’s students.
When asked to elaborate on Auburn University students’ involvement with volunteer efforts at the park, Darden said, “We participate yearly in The BIG Event, which gets about 40-70 college students out here in early spring. But sometimes we have a difficult time getting them out here to do other volunteer work when something is not as organized.”
Alabama Parks Partners is connected to the community through Twitter and Facebook.
In the midst of the State budget decisions lays a competing number of government agencies. While the Senate will move to vote on the final budget by the end of the week, the rally’s speakers reminded the Auburn-Opelika Community that it is their words and actions that can prohibit the State from redirecting State park funds to Alabama’s General Fund.
“One of the things that will make [cuts to the State Park budget] not happen is for you to contact your legislature,” Darden said.
A pep speech was reserved for Auburn University equestrian coach, Greg Williams at the end of the rally. Referencing Will Rogers, he said, “’People that don’t get involved in politics will always be governed by people that do.’”
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