Payson

Payson’s Tonto state park aid cited in USA Today article

by

[Source: Emily Bazer, USA Today] — In communities where budget cuts have shuttered public pools, closed parks and canceled Fourth of July fireworks, some residents and businesses are giving time and money to save their favorite summer activities…

Businesses, residents and the town of Payson, Ariz., are giving time and money to keep nearby Tonto Natural Bridge State Park open some weekends.  Each year, more than 80,000 people visit the park and spend as much as $3 million in the area, according to Arizona State Parks. The state agency shut it down in February to help close a budget gap, said assistant parks director Jay Ream. Businesses and the city have pledged to pay as much as $5,000 to reopen the park on weekends, from Memorial Day through at least June.  Residents will volunteer at the park to reduce the need for paid staff, said Mayor Kenny Evans.  “We’re seeing a renaissance of people taking personal responsibility for the communities they love,” he said. “I really see it as a silver lining.” [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Payson contributes funds to open Tonto Bridge park

by

[Source: Casey Newton, Arizona Republic] — A state park that closed in February will reopen later this month, thanks to funding from an unexpected source.   Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, which closed as part of cost-saving measures for the troubled state parks system, received about $5,000 from the city of Payson to allow it to reopen for at least five weekends. Payson will also contribute about 100 volunteers to help staff the park, Mayor Ken Evans said.

Evans said his cash-strapped city struggled with the decision of whether to donate money to the parks system.  Ultimately, fears of lost revenue from tourism led the city to volunteer money and staff.  More than 87,000 people visited Tonto during fiscal 2008.  The park will open for Memorial Day from May 22 through 25, and then reopen June 6 and 7, 13 and 14, 20 and 21, and 27 and 28.

The parks system closed McFarland and Jerome State Historic parks earlier this year, after lawmakers cut its budget by more than $36 million in the past year.  To reopen Tonto, officials will charge the salaries of two seasonal rangers to Payson.  The rangers make $11 an hour, parks operations chief Janet Hawks said in a statement.  In February, parks officials said closing the park would allow for repairs at Tonto’s lodge.  Spokeswoman Ellen Bilbrey said Tuesday that work has not yet begun on the lodge, and that visitors will not be able to use it when the park reopens.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Fight to reopen Arizona’s Tonto Natural Bridge State Park continues

by
111607tontobridgearchcmyk_t180
Tonto Natural Bridge (Photo: Payson Roundup)

[Source: Pete Aleshire, Payson Roundup] — Residents of the Rim Country continue to fight to keep the state from making Tonto Natural Bridge another casualty of the budget crisis.  Rim Country officials hope they can win a commitment to reopen Tonto Natural Bridge State Park as early as June at an April 3 Arizona State Parks Board meeting in the Valley.

In addition, local leaders hope that a recently appointed task force studying the long-term future of the state’s battered system of 28 parks will explore creative ways to bolster the region’s best-known tourist draw.  That task force will consider public-private partnerships and joint operating agreements as a way to keep parks open.  “I’m optimistic, but we’ve got to keep the pressure on them,” said Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce Manager John Stanton, following two meetings involving top state park officials, Rim Country leaders and local state lawmakers.   [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Visitors, volunteers, staff bid adieu to Tonto Natural Bridge park

by
Leo Budd of Payson, who has been visiting Tonto Natural Bridge for more than 30 years, pays a visit on Feb. 26, 2009, the day the park was set to close due to state budget cuts.

[Source: Alyson Zepeda, Cronkite News Service] — Leo Budd has been coming to Tonto Natural Bridge since 1971, long before this site became a state park.  When he learned it was closing, he rushed here from his Payson home.  “It’s definitely a sad event,” Budd said.  “I bring all of my out-of-town visitors here to see this.”

As of Thursday, Arizona State Parks closed Tonto Natural Bridge State Park and Jerome State Historic Park.  The agency, grappling with budget cuts, said the parks, as well McFarland State Historic Park in Florence, which already was shut down for repairs, are in dire need of repairs.  A steady trickle of visitors took their last chance — at least for now — to view Tonto Natural Bridge on Thursday, some seeing it for the first time and others bidding farewell after years of dropping by.  “It’s sad that they have to close it,” said Tina Beebe of Pontiac, Ill., visiting for the first time with her husband, Pete.

At 183 feet high and more than 400 feet long, Tonto Natural Bridge, located about 10 miles north of Payson, is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world.  Once owned by a family that ran a guest ranch on the site, it opened as a state park in 1991.  Around 45 volunteers, some of whom have made caring for the park the focus of their retirement, have been told that their services are no longer needed because it’s a liability to have them on the grounds unsupervised.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]