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The Future of Alabama State Parks

The Future of Alabama State Parks. A consideration for supporting new recreational programs in AL State Parks. AL State Parks Mission. To acquire and preserve natural areas; To develop, furnish, operate and maintain recreational facilities;

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The Future of Alabama State Parks

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  1. The Future of Alabama State Parks A consideration for supporting new recreational programs in AL State Parks

  2. AL State Parks Mission • To acquire and preserve natural areas; • To develop, furnish, operate and maintain recreational facilities; • To extend the public’s knowledge of the state’s natural environment; • AL Code Section 9-2-100 to 9-2-108

  3. AL State Parks Profile: • Created in 1939, presently 22 parks in 21 counties • The 22 parks collectively have ~47,000 Acres • Five resort parks with lodge, restaurant, and meeting facilities • Ten Parks with modern cottages and campgrounds • Twenty-one parks with modern campgrounds • Two parks with cave tours

  4. AL State Parks Profile: • 2,300 modern campsites • 220 cabins, cottages and chalets • 343 Resort Hotel Rooms • 6 Golf Courses • 200+ miles of recreational trails • Thousands of acres of adjacent public waters

  5. AL State Parks Profile: • 4.6 Million Customer Occurrences • Customer origin: 50% AL/50% other • 22 Parks Rev/Exp ratio: $29.8 M/$28.9 M • AL operates a “user pay” system • Partners: recreational clubs, land trusts, historical societies, wildlife enthusiasts, local governments

  6. Park Profile • Small (<50,000 VO; all < $600,000 Rev.) • Roland Cooper, Bladon Springs, Blue Springs, Bucks Pocket, Chickasaw, Cathedral, Florala, Meaher, Paul Grist, Frank Jackson • Medium (50,000 to 200,000 VO; $0.25 to 1.8 M) • Cheaha, Chewacla, Desoto, Lurleen, Rickwood, Monte Sano • Large (200,000 + VO; all > $1.5 Million Rev.) • Gulf, Joe Wheeler, Guntersville, Lakepoint, Oak Mt, Wind Creek

  7. The Most Significant Misperception • “I pay my taxes, why do we have to pay for x, y, and Z?” 70% of customers believe we are a tax supported system • AL State Parks are a user-pay funded system • Within the 22 state parks, a comparison of revenues vs. expenses show a small profit through customer derived revenues • The majority of customer revenue comes from overnight guests

  8. Alabama State ParksADCNR Management Overview

  9. Revenue Profile:major contributors • Guest Derived Revenue: $29.8 M • Camping: $6.6 M • Cottages/cabins/chalets: $4.7 M • Admission/tours/fees: $3.9 M • Lodge rooms: $3.2 M • Sales: $2.9 M • Golf: $2.0 M

  10. Revenue Profile (22 Parks) • 10 Parks account for $27.9 M, or 94% of system’s total guest revenue ($29.8 M) • Joe Wheeler, Monte Sano, Cathedral, Guntersville, DeSoto, Cheaha, Oak Mtn., Wind Creek, Lake Point, Gulf • These same 10 parks account for 94% of the system’s guest attendance. • GSP accounts for 23% ($6.8 M )of guest revenue, and 45% of guest attendance. • 5 of the 10 are consistently “in the black” • Among the 12, only Chewacla&Meaher are “in the black”

  11. Revenue Profile: Guntersville • 2012 revenue- $4,300,000 • Revenue sources: • 30% from lodge • 29% from restaurant • 7% from golf course • 13% from cottages • 5% from campground • 0% from gate admissions • 15% from other misc.

  12. Expenditure Profile • 22 parks have a $28.9 Million expenditure • 10 Parks account for $26.3 M, or 91% of system’s total expenditure • Guntersville’s expenditure was $5,400,000 • 54% was salaries and benefits • 3% was standard repairs and maintenance • 13% was utilities • 7% was supplies • 23% other

  13. Visitor Profile • FY2011-12: 4,662,312 visitor occurrences • Overnight guests: 1,014,016 (22%) • Other revenue/guests (e.g., pier, golf, gate counts): 2,465,430 (53%) • Non-revenue guests (e.g., boat ramps, beaches): 1,151,321 (25%)

  14. Visitor Profile • FY2011-12: Of the 4,662,312 visitor occurrences, 2,102,736 of the visitation took place at Gulf State Park, or 45% of the system’s annual attendance. • 56 % of GSP visitation are from out of state. • Of the 4,662,312 visitor occurrences, 50% are from out of state.

  15. Adjustments to the 10/12 Model • ~94/91% of revenue/costs come from 10 of the 22 state parks • This is our “10/12 Model” • Any adjustments to facilities or personnel @ the 12 small parks will NOT yield large savings • The most significant annual costs for capital efforts, salaries and O/M will always be from “the big 10”

  16. Options for Future Revenue • Annual Park Pass or Recreational License • New recreation attractions or concessions • Ziplines and challenge courses • Trails and lift system • water features • “Beach fee” • “Recreational equipment fee” (e.g., camper/5th wheel registration like boat) • Can Park’s fees be “woven” into FA matrix?

  17. Options for Future Revenue • Adventure Centers hosting unique guest packages and programs: • Ecotours (rare bird adventures, bat caves, bog sites) • Unique trail programs (e.g., mountain biking system) • Spelunking packages • Adventure camps • Hunting and Fishing programs • Whitewater packages

  18. Options for Future Revenue • Additional camping units at select parks which have a demonstrated occupancy rate supporting these additions (e.g., Gulf SP) • Additional cabin units at select parks which have a demonstrated occupancy rate supporting these additions (e.g., Oak Mtn.) • Park Gating and related entrance fees

  19. The Future of AL State Parks:Developing a 5 Year Plan • What do you, the customer and partner, want from your park system? • Do changes in our society warrant changes to the park system? • Do you want more parks, or less? • Do you want new recreational opportunities? • How do you want the parks to be funded? • Ideas for a new support system...

  20. The Future of AL State Parks:Developing a 5 Year Plan • What do you, the customer/partner, want from your parks? Ex: A robust Recreational Trails Program • Do changes in our society warrant changes to the park system? Ex: wireless technology... • Do you want more parks, or less? 1989 • Do you want new recreational opportunities? Ex: canopy tours/ziplines, alpine slide, cable skiing... • How do you want the parks to be funded? • Ideas for a new support system- Parks Foundation, Car Tag, state tax check-off, user pass system...

  21. Advancing Outdoor Recreation • Annual Park Pass or Recreational License • New recreation attractions or concessions • Ziplines and challenge courses • Trails and related support systems • water features • “Recreational equipment fee” (e.g., camper/5th wheel registration like boat) • Can Park’s fees be “woven” into FA matrix?

  22. ASP: Mountain Biking in the Past • Monte Sano • Oak Mountain • Chewacla • Initially, not really welcome... • Clubs formed, conducted themselves professionally, and won over the park staff

  23. ASP: Mountain Biking in the Present • Monte Sano- 15 miles • Oak Mountain- 30 miles • Chewacla- 16 miles • Lake Lurleen- 24 miles • Cheaha- 8 miles • DeSoto- 11 miles

  24. ASP: Mountain Biking in the Future • Monte Sano, Oak Mtn., Chewacla, Lake Lurleen, Cheaha, DeSoto • Guntersville- 6,000 acres • Joe Wheeler- 2,500 acres • Cathedral Caverns- 400 acres • Wind Creek- 1,400 acres

  25. ASP: Mountain Biking in the Future • Synergy with related amenities • Pump tracks • BMX courses • Future Parks on Forever Wild lands? • Coldwater Mountain (4,000 acres) • Walls of Jericho (20,000 acres) • Yates Lake (5,000 acres)

  26. ASP: Mountain Biking in the Future • Re-casting the mold • Taking what we have and developing a designed trail system, rather than parks with trails... • Golf’s example via the Robert Trent Jones Trail • If we build it, will they come? • They already have!

  27. ASP: Mountain Biking in the Future • Let’s make something special... • What will it take? • A dedicated trail specialist to work with professionals, clubs, and other partners • A dedicated trail crew to build new trails and maintain or re-work existing ones • A new form of dedicated funding? • ASP Recreational License (Dirt Pass)

  28. What’s in a name? A lot! • What’s your reaction to the following phrases? • Recreational License • Dirt Pass • Annual Permit • Membership Program • Rewards Program • Each one could do the same thing, fund recreation.

  29. Examples of Existing License Systems • Motor Vehicles • Boat Registration • Hunting • Fishing • WMA system (700,000 acre hunting system)

  30. History of Hunting and Fishing Licenses • Initiated in 1938 • National sportsmen's caucus and related groups • Regulate and License the activity, by state • Tax related industry to provide state’s matching federal funds to support state “game and fish agency”

  31. History of Hunting and Fishing Licenses, continued • Excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment collected by federal government from hunting and fishing industry • Return tax revenue to state G&F based on formula of population, size of state... • State generates matching $ through hunting and fishing license sales • Ratio- 3 federal $/1 state $

  32. History of Hunting and Fishing Licenses, continued • Classic User Pay system • No comparable park model • No comparable non-consumptive model • Why? • Why not make one? • What would it look like?

  33. History of Hunting and Fishing Licenses, continued • # Hunters and anglers in AL w/ licenses • 250,000 Hunters @ $25.05 = $6,262,500 • 580,000 Anglers @ $12.50 = $7,250,000 • 40,000 WMA system @ $16.70 = $668,000 • Revenue from feds- 3:1

  34. Advancing Recreation in ASP:Mountain Biking Model • What do you want in the way of a mountain biking system in Alabama? • Are you interested in the RTJ model? • Beyond design & build, how will it be maintained? • What would you be willing to pay annually to maintain and support such a system?

  35. Park’s Recreational Dirt Pass:Mountain Biking Model • When thinking about a pass system, we must think about the # of individual users • Example: How many individual Mtn. Bikers ride in Alabama? • Basic Math example • 20,000 Mtn. Bikers @ $50/yr= $1,000,000 revenue • Supporting dedicated trail crew for annual maintenance and construction

  36. Park’s Recreational Dirt Pass:Trail User Model • When thinking about a pass system, we must think about the # of individual users • Example: How many individual trail users are in Alabama using State Parks? • Basic Math example • 40,000 trail users @ $25/yr= $1,000,000 revenue • Supporting dedicated trail crew for annual maintenance and construction

  37. A Parting Thought • Do you play golf, or know anyone who does? • Golf is a recreational past-time... • Golf takes place on a recreational course... • Some golf courses are collectively known to be components of a trail system... • What if we managed our public trails like we manage public golf? • Think about it...

  38. 75 Years of Public Service • From the past to the present, your parks have persisted through a user pay system • “Partners Pay the Way” campaign • Public appreciation programs during 2014, recognizing our partners and 75 Years of success • Thank You for being a partner to the State Parks!

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