Arizona State Legislature

Could rift over Arizona budget lead to shutdown of state services?

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More closure signs could go up if state budget crisis isn't resolved (Photo: Tom Brossart, Payson Roundup)

[Source: Casey Newton and Mary Jo Pitzl, Arizona Republic] — Driver’s licenses will be unavailable.  Road construction will grind to a halt.  Child abuse will not be investigated… [All 28 state parks would likely close indefinitely.] Those are some of the scenarios state agencies are preparing for should state leaders fail to agree on a budget by July 1.

The nearly total shutdown of state government, a possibility raised last week by Gov. Jan Brewer, has grown more likely this week as Republican leaders in the Legislature refuse to send Brewer the budget package they approved June 4…. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

(Un)Clean Sweep

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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.

AsSeenInPMThen 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.]

State legislators agree to Tonto bridge town hall meeting

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The closed signs went up Thursday afternoon at Tonto Natural Bridge State Park (Photo: Tom Brossart, Roundup).

[Source: Pete Aleshire, Payson Roundup] — As rangers on Thursday bolted an orange square blaring “closed” on the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park sign, Rim Country leaders rallied support to force a reversal of the decision.  A steady stream of people and reporters made their way to the park on Thursday, anxious to have a last look before the indefinite closure imposed mostly to shift staff members to other parks.

State representatives Bill Konopnicki and Jack Brown both agreed to attend a Town Hall meeting next Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Best Western Conference room on Highway 87 across from the Swiss Village.  In addition, Payson Mayor Kenny Evans, Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce Manager John Stanton, and other community leaders have an appointment to meet with state Sen. Sylvia Allen on Wednesday in Phoenix.  “This place does not have to close,” said an indignant Stanton at the entrance to the park on Thursday.  “We’re one of 11 communities being held hostage because the state parks board needs the money.”

After the legislature swept $35 million from various state park funds, the state parks board voted to close indefinitely 11 of the 27 parks in the system.  Now, state park officials hope the legislature will let them borrow money from the $68 million that has accumulated in the voter-established Land Conservation Fund.  House Bill 2088 would allow state parks and other agencies to borrow $20 million from that fund and repay in 2012.  Voters originally established the fund to buy state trust land for use as open space around cities.

Stanton said community leaders hope to convince the lawmakers to restore enough money to the state parks budget to keep Tonto Natural Bridge and other parks open.  The park draws nearly 100,000 visitors annually and park managers say January’s increase in entrance fees from $3 to $4 would have made the park entirely self-supporting this year.

Economic impact studies show that the park generates $3.5 million in revenue for local, tourism-dependent business.  Equally important, the park gives Rim County a national and international identity, as evidenced by how many people every day pull into the chamber’s visitor information office to find out how to get to the bridge.  “Our message (to the legislators) is if you want to have enough people left up here to re-elect you… don’t close this park,” said Stanton.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Community rallies to keep Oracle State Park open

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State Sen. Al Melvin (seated at left) listens as docent Mary Bast gives a tour of Oracle State Park's Kannally Ranch House (Photo: Ty Bowers, The Explorer)

[Source: Ty Bowers, The Explorer] — Given the nearly $22 million in immediate budget cuts the Arizona Legislature has proposed for the state park system, keeping Oracle State Park open could prove difficult, Sen. Al Melvin (R-26) told a handful of park supporters Saturday.  “Time is of the essence here,” Melvin said after a tour of the Kannally Ranch House at the park.  On Friday, Feb. 20, the Arizona State Parks Board will vote on whether to close up to eight state parks, the 4,000-acre park in Oracle among them.

A letter-writing campaign could work, especially one featuring a detailed proposal for how the park’s support group, the Friends of Oracle State Park, could help defray operating costs, Melvin strategized.  He would write the parks board, too, the senator said.  “I promise you I will do everything I can … to keep it up and running,” Melvin told a small cadre of some of the park’s most loyal volunteers, many of whom live near Melvin in SaddleBrooke.

Two days earlier, on Feb. 5, more than 100 people had packed the Oracle Community Center to discuss the park’s potential closure.  At that meeting, the Friends of Oracle State Park proposed spending some of $40,000 they had in the bank to keep the park open for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.  It would cost about $1,500 a month to run the park with a shoestring staff — hardly a long-term solution, many volunteers said.

In fiscal 2008, it cost $278,398 to operate the park in Oracle, according to state officials.  The 9,898 recorded visitors to the park brought in $14,492.  When contemplating which parks it might close, the state looked at how much it cost per visitor to operate each park.  It costs $26/visitor to operate Oracle State Park — second highest only to McFarland State Park in Florence.  Numerous people attending the meeting in Oracle last Thursday questioned using cost per visitor as the only metric for deciding which parks to close. “Is that the best way to value a park?” asked Jim Walsh, the Pinal County attorney.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]