Historic Preservation Archives - Page 33 of 48

House kills measure that would re-open Arizona state parks on full-time basis

May 16, 2009 by Arizona Heritage Alliance

Arizona State House of Representatives (Phoenix, Arizona) by courthouselover. — Arizona House of Representatives (Photo source: courthouselover, Flickr)

[Source: Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services] — The state House lawmakers killed legislation Tuesday that would have provided money to reopen state parks on a full-time basis. A total of 36 legislators voted for the measure that would have taken $20 million from a special account designed to deal with urban sprawl and given some of that to the state Parks Board to compensate for cuts in the agency’s budget made by lawmakers in January. But HB 2088 needed 45 votes because the fund was created by voters in 1998. And the Arizona Constitution requires a three-fourths margin of the 60-member House — and the 30-member Senate — to alter what voters have approved.

Deputy Parks Director Jay Zieman said Tuesday’s action means five parks will remain closed two days a week to save money. It also delays the reopening of three other parks that were shuttered entirely, at least in part to cut costs. The defeat came when every House Democrat except one refused to support the measure.

Rep. Chad Campbell, D-Phoenix, said he was sympathetic to the needs of the Parks Department. But he questioned the legality of the move. He pointed out that the constitution forbids lawmakers from tinkering with any program approved by voters. He said the only exception, even with a three-fourths margin, is when a change “furthers the purpose’ of the underlying measure. In this case, he said voters approved providing $20 million a year for 11 years to help purchase or lease state trust lands in urban areas to keep them out of the hands of developers. Funding the operation of parks, said Campbell, does not do that. He also said raiding voter-approved funds sets a “bad precedent.”

None of that placated Zieman. “We expect to have $98 million in that fund at the end of the fiscal year,’ he said. “It is maddening to be in a position where you’re closing parks’ because 30 percent of the staff has been let go.

The state has closed Tonto, McFarland and Jerome state parks, though some of the reason they were chosen because of work that needs to be done at each site. What was not anticipated was the need to go to a five-day-a-week schedule at six other parks: Fort Verde, Oracle, Tombstone Courthouse, Tubac Presidio, Yuma Territorial Prison, and the Yuma Quartermaster Depot. The state is saving money by chaining them closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Aside from the closures and reduced schedules, Zieman said his agency also has suspended funding grants, even in cases where groups had been given the go-ahead and work had been started.

Rep. Warde Nichols, R-Gilbert, who crafted the legislation, said the move made sense not to tap the funds which “are doing absolutely nothing for our state right now.” One reason there is so much money in the account because the 1998 law requires that taxpayer funds be matched by other sources, whether public or private. Those matching funds have not materialized. Beyond that, Nichols said the economy has slowed development to the point where builders are not buying up large swaths of state land. And Nichols said the funding is just a loan: The legislation would have required the state to put back the $20 million in the future.

But Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, said that payback is not guaranteed, as future lawmakers could simply vote to ignore the mandate. [Note: To read the full article, click here. To read the Camp Verde Bugle’s editorial on this subject, click here.]

(Un)Clean Sweep

May 16, 2009 by Arizona Heritage Alliance

Sullivan Hotel, circa 1915 (Photo source: Jerome Historical Society)

[Source: Jana Bommersbach, Phoenix Magazine] — It was such a thrilling day when the $150,000 ceremonial check arrived to save the old Sullivan Hotel on Main Street in Jerome. Most of the town celebrated that November day in 2007, because this state grant meant one of the most important preservation projects in the town’s history. After all, Jerome doesn’t have money of its own to restore its buildings, which all date to the early 1900s. It’s so small that all 400 residents pose once a year for a picture of the entire town, and if it didn’t count on tourism to boost its economy, Jerome wouldn’t be there at all. Saving what it has is crucial to its very existence, so its residents certainly want to save the Sullivan Hotel.

It was built as a brothel run by the famous Madam Jennie Bauters – once the richest woman in the West – who came to the Arizona Territory specifically because it was one of the few places that allowed women to own property. The brothel later expanded and became a hotel, then a shop for artists.

Today, the four-story building is owned by Mary Wills and Sally Dryer. It houses two Nellie Bly businesses that employ 12 people. There’s plenty of room for even more shops – and more jobs and more sales tax money – if the building were restored and stabilized. Mary and Sally are so committed to making that happen that they mortgaged the home that they share and borrowed from everyone they know once the grant was awarded.

AsSeenInPM Then they got the town itself to become the fiscal agent for a state grant from the Arizona Heritage Fund (private citizens can’t get these grants outright but can partner with municipalities). The grant would cover 60 percent of the project while Mary and Sally would finance the other 40 percent. But to get ready for the grant, which was to be dispersed as work was completed, the women had to spend a ton of money up front. So far, they’ve spent some $170,000, trusting that a hunk of that would be reimbursed by the grant.

Today, that ceremonial check hangs in the window of Nellie Bly Kaleidoscopes shop, defaced with big black letters that read: “Insufficient Funds.” [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Hopi ruins near Winslow, Arizona face closure

May 3, 2009 by Arizona Heritage Alliance

Susan Secakuku, a Hopi Tribe official, speaks at an ancient structure at Homolovi Ruins State Park near Winslow. The site is important to the Hopi because it once was occupied by the tribe's Anasazi ancestors. The tribe is trying to develop a partnership that would keep the park open if budget cuts require park closures. — Susan Secakuku, a Hopi Tribe official, talks about the importance of Homolovi Ruins State Park near Winslow.

[Source: Daniel Newhauser, Cronkite News Service] — Before Homolovi Ruins became a state park, relic hunters with shovels and even backhoes used to tear through the rolling high desert here scrounging for ancient pottery. Today, remnants of a 14th-century Anasazi village are preserved, and in some cases, restored so visitors such as Micah Lomaomuaya, a member of the Hopi tribe, can see how ancestors of the Hopi traded and farmed along the Little Colorado River. But it also serves as a bridge between cultures, he said. “This is really a good stepping stone for us to use in terms of sharing our culture with the outside world,” said Lomaomuaya, a consulting anthropologist for his tribe. “If this park closed, it would really limit our ability to reach and interact with the outside world.”

As the Legislature grapples with a $3 billion budget shortfall for fiscal year 2010, Homolovi Ruins, the only state park dedicated to Native American culture, is among facilities that could face closure as Arizona State Parks anticipates budget cuts.

That’s no small worry to Lomaomuaya and others in the Hopi tribe, whose reservation lies 60 miles north of Homolovi Ruins, but whose history is embedded in this auburn expanse that in Hopi means “place of the little hills.” “It cannot close, in my mind,” Lomaomuaya said. “It needs to be open for everybody.” [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

New Arizona state parks chief once vandalized park property

May 3, 2009 by Arizona Heritage Alliance

[Source: Casey Newton, Arizona Republic] — The woman chosen to be the next director of Arizona’s state parks once carved her name into a historic park property in southeastern Arizona. She also helped recover thousands of acres of burned parkland in San Diego County and launched an innovative system for making campground reservations online. The Arizona State Parks Board’s unanimous selection of Renée Bahl to take over the parks system next month has polarized state leaders.

Parks officials say she is a dynamic, experienced professional who will help lead the parks system out of a historic budget crisis. Bahl, 40, is “a vigorous, intelligent, resourceful person who knows how to get through the most difficult of times,” said Bill Scalzo, who led the selection committee for the Arizona State Parks Board. The board voted to pick Bahl last week. But at least one lawmaker says her selection as director is inappropriate given a vandalism incident that took place nearly a decade ago.

Bahl, a former assistant state parks director, oversaw historic preservation at the San Rafael Ranch. San Rafael, which is not open to the public, is a 3,500-acre preserve purchased by the parks board in 1999. It sits at the headwaters of the Santa Cruz River and is home to a variety of wildlife and endangered plants. In 2001, another employee caught her etching her first name and the year into the wall of a historic adobe barn. Bahl was disciplined but remained in her job until 2002, when she left to become director of parks and recreation for San Diego County, Calif.

State Rep. Daniel Patterson, D-Tucson, criticized the selection. “She was in a position overseeing the state’s historic preservation office,” said Patterson, the southwest director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, who wrote about the issue on his blog. “It’s hard for me to understand that someone in that position could be so clueless that they would think it would be OK to vandalize a state historic property.” Patterson called for Bahl to issue a public apology.

Through a spokeswoman, Bahl declined to comment. Officials said they were impressed with Bahl’s education, which includes a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in public administration with a focus on natural-resource management.

Scalzo said Bahl brought up the vandalism incident during an interview and apologized for it, saying she had made a mistake. “One thing I really appreciated is she brought that up,” Scalzo said. “She didn’t say, ‘I’ve had a perfect career, I don’t make mistakes.’ ”

Bahl, who will make about $140,000 a year, will take over for Ken Travous, who is retiring after 23 years leading the parks system. She will oversee a budget of about $23 million, most of it from grants and user fees, and about 270 employees. Lawmakers swept $36 million from parks coffers in the last year, prompting the closure of three parks and threatening several more. The board is currently working to prevent further cuts proposed by the Legislature’s Republican leadership, which board members say would devastate the system.

Scalzo called criticism a distraction from the parks board’s most pressing problems. “We need help, we don’t need criticism,” he said. “We need to have this new person come in here with everyone wishing her the best. Because she’s going to need every bit of it.” [Note: To read the full article, click here.]