Russ Jones

Political Committee Formed to Secure Passage of the Arizona Heritage Fund Ballot Referendum via HCR 2047 currently working its way through the Arizona House of Representatives

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PHOENIX, Arizona (February 23, 2012) – Today, Arizona community leaders announced the formation of a political committee, Restore the Voters’ Heritage Fund, that will seek voter approval of a ballot referendum designed to support the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund in acquiring and preserving recreational and historical assets across the state. The measure, which would go before the voters in the coming November election, is currently being considered by the Arizona Legislature.

HCR2047, sponsored by Representative Russ Jones (R-Yuma) and co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 17 members of the House, would place a referendum on the November ballot seeking voter approval for the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund.

“Pristine areas that represent the varied vistas, flora, and fauna found throughout Arizona, along with many important fragile sites, represent the heart and soul of our state,” Jones said. “It’s particularly important now, as Arizona celebrates its Centennial, that we rededicate ourselves to the preservation of our historical roots and spectacular vistas.”

The Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund was initially established in 1990 following the passage of a citizen-approved ballot initiative. As a result of the recent recession, however, the Legislature chose to redirect the dollars and remove that Fund from statute in order to close budget gaps.

The bill has already passed its first hurdle, gaining the unanimous 9-0 vote of the House Agriculture and Water Committee.

“In celebration of Arizona’s centennial there is nothing we could do that is more significant than to restore the one major tool our state has for preserving our special places,” said Phoenix lawyer Grady Gammage, Jr., Chairman of the committee that will seek voter support for the referendum this fall.

Richard H. Dozer, Chairman of GenSpring Family Office – Phoenix and former President of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is serving as Treasurer of the Committee. Looking back, he reflects, “The Heritage Fund has supported parks, trails, open space, jobs, and a better economy for Arizona in the past. We need it fully restored so that it continues that important work of preserving our rich history, beautiful landscapes, and our childrens’ strong minds and bodies. That is why I have agreed to support this campaign.”

One supporter of the restoration effort is Vicki Kilvinger, mayor of Florence, AZ. “From 1991 to 2006, Florence received a total of 18 grants totaling $1.5 million dollars, which was matched by the same amount for a total of over $3 million dollars,” said Kilvinger. “Our community and others across the state have been able to rehabilitate historic buildings utilizing the Fund. Passage of the referendum would re-establish a program that would create jobs in this difficult economy and also save historic properties, build parks, and contribute to a higher quality of life for our residents.”

According to Beth Woodin, President of the Heritage Alliance, a coalition is forming to support the referendum campaign. “The Heritage Alliance consists of organizations, companies and individuals in recreational, open space, historic preservation and conservation communities, as well as county and municipal governments,” Woodin said. “We already have thousands of activists across the state ready to hit the ground running, and we expect many other organizations also to join the cause.”

For more information, please contact: [email protected]. 

Communities applaud bid to revive Heritage Fund for historic projects

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[Source: Jessica Testa, Cronkite News, 2/16/2012] – FLORENCE – To most people, these old buildings look like they’re decaying from the inside out. To Bonnie Bariola, they’re treasures, held up by century–old adobe brick and generations of hand-me-down stories. The Ceyla Long Sweeny Residence, built in 1876, is a small adobe house with manure for insulation and saguaro ribs for a roof. Bariola points to broken window, shattered by a tossed rock. A few blocks over, three dead pigeons lie just inside the entrance to the Cuen House and Butcher Shop, the first telephone exchange in Pinal County. Bariola fearlessly marches through as pigeons coo from the rafters.

Plans to restore the buildings won grants of more than $90,000 each through the Heritage Fund, which Arizona voters established in 1990. And both were stripped of that promised funding in 2009, when the state swept the Heritage Fund in an effort to balance its sinking budget.

In 2010, lawmakers eliminated the Heritage Fund, pulling the plug on dozens of approved, construction–ready projects, including five in Florence.

Bonnie Bariola, member of the Florence Preservation Foundation, wrote a grant for the restoration of the town's historic White House. Bonnie Bariola, member of the Florence Preservation Foundation, wrote a grant for the restoration of the town’s historic White House.

“Using Heritage funds, we’ve been able to maintain a part of history,” said Bariola, grant writer for the Florence Preservation Foundation. “Without funding, the culture of these buildings wastes away.” During the Heritage Fund’s 20–year run, Florence received more than $1.5 million in 18 state grants to restore its 19th century structures. The former mining community and Pinal County seat was third in the state for total dollars granted, behind Phoenix and Tucson.

Now, a state lawmaker is moving forward with a resolution that would put the Heritage Fund back on the ballot in November. If approved, the fund would be protected from any future sweeps thanks to the 1998 Voter Protection Act, a constitutional amendment that prohibits state lawmakers from reallocating any voter–created funds. “It’s fitting we do this, especially in our centennial year,” Rep. Russ Jones, R–Yuma, said recently to the House Committee on Agriculture and Water, which unanimously voted to support HCR 2047.

The Heritage Fund provided up to $10 million annually from the Arizona Lottery to both the Arizona Game and Fish Department and Arizona State Parks. Game and Fish used the money to promote outdoor recreation, help threatened and endangered species and educate residents about the environment and wildlife. Arizona State Parks used the fund for its own acquisitions and improvements and administered grants through programs benefiting historic preservation, trails and parks.

It’s not just Florence benefiting from the Heritage Fund – every city and town in Arizona has received the grant money, said Janice Miano, part–time executive director of the Arizona Heritage Alliance. “The impact is most noticeable in the rural counties, where any infusion of external funds for trail maintenance, land acquisition and construction repair will have a far larger impact to the relative population,” she said.

A Heritage Fund grant for $60,000 was canceled for a book on midcentury modern architecture published by the Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission. The city was able to shore up the money from federal grants to complete the project, and “Midcentury Marvels” will soon have its second printing.

Oro Valley wasn’t as fortunate. A $27,660 grant to build a dog park was canceled, along with a $111,160 grant to restore the 1874 Steam Pump Ranch. Ainsley Legner, director or Oro Valley’s Parks, Recreation, Library and Cultural Resources Department, said she’d be delighted to see Oro Valley residents be able to visit and use that land for recreation. “We don’t have any money available to improve the site. We can’t stabilize all the structures and provide the necessary amenities, like a restroom or a fire hydrant,” she said. “When you take away something as significant as Heritage funding, you can no longer pull all those resources together to make good things happen.”

Jay Ziemann, legislative liaison for Arizona State Parks, said the agency’s board supports Jones’ resolution but that his optimism is limited. Ziemann said many legislators share the views of Rep. Brenda Barton, R–Safford, who raised concerns in the committee meeting about the availability of lottery funds. A reinstated Heritage Fund would reduce the amount of revenue available to the Legislature. “It’s nice that it cleared that first step, but it’s got a long way to go,” Ziemann said. “I know it has a lot of hurdles ahead.”

Parks Heritage Fund, clearly a boon to Arizona, should be restored

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[Source: William C. Thornton, Special to the Arizona Daily Star, 2/16/2012] – The Arizona Parks Heritage Fund may be the best investment of state lottery dollars you’ve never heard of. Enacted by voters in 1990, the Heritage Fund directed $20 million to be divided equally each year between State Parks and Game and Fish. It’s also worth noting that the $10 million state parks heritage fund money often served as seed money for matching grants. Thus the total yearly impact was typically $20 million or more.

Parks grants have developed new parks, and built and improved trails, campgrounds, picnic facilities, boat docks and ramps. Historical restoration grants have helped preserve important parts of our rich cultural heritage including our own beloved Mission San Xavier del Bac, the White Dove of the Desert.

If you hunt, fish, hike, camp, boat, picnic or share my love of Arizona history, the Parks Heritage Fund has benefited you. Moreover, the Parks Heritage Fund has helped fuel the economic engine that brings dollars and supports jobs.

A 2007 study estimated that 224 jobs were directly supported by Parks Heritage Fund grants. Heritage-funded improvements to parks and historic sites help attract more than 2 million visitors, about half from out of state, who add $266 million to our state’s economy each year and support an additional 3,000 jobs, mostly in rural areas that have been among the most heavily impacted by the economic downturn.

In response to the economic downturn and decline in tax revenue, the Legislature swept the state parks allocation into the general fund in 2010 and, inexplicably, eliminated the fund in July 2011.

Now, thanks to Rep. Russ Jones, a Republican from Yuma, voters may be given the opportunity to restore this fund, which has benefitted every community in our state. If enacted by the Legislature and approved by voters, HCR 2047 will reinstate language and lottery funding for the state parks heritage fund into Arizona law. (Editor’s note: Reps. Steve Farley and Matt Heinz, both Tucson Democrats, are also sponsors, as is Rep. Ted Vogt, a Tucson Republican.)

It passed its first committee hearing unanimously with strong bipartisan support, but many hurdles remain before it can be referred to voters. Reinstatement of the parks funding is not a partisan issue. It isn’t a liberal-conservative issue. It’s common sense and sound business practice, a win-win for outdoor recreation, historical restoration and Arizona taxpayers.

It’s our Heritage. Let voters decide.

Contact your lawmakers. Tell your representatives in the Arizona Legislature your views. Go to www.azhouse.gov or to www.azsenate.gov online. Call the Tucson legislative office at 398-6000 or call Phoenix toll-free at 1-800-352-8404.

William C. Thornton is a member of the board of directors for the Arizona Heritage Alliance. Email him at [email protected]