Farragut plans cutbacks

As the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation struggles to budget around state cutbacks, Farragut State Park will close its visitor center two days a week to conserve funding.

"We're holding back some of our services and funding at this point to make sure we don't exceed what we have," said Randall Butt, park manager, adding that the center will close on Tuesdays and Wednesdays starting this week. "A lot of adjustments are going on to respond to economic issues and the amount of money available."

On top of planning for the department's slashed 2011 budget, Parks and Recreation is also scrambling to ensure it has enough to provide services for the remaining four months of its fiscal year.

The agency has been hit hard by holdbacks this year, said Chief Planner Rick Just, first losing about half a million dollars earlier this year. Staff is currently working to deal with a cutback of $106,000.

"It will be difficult," he said of working around the cuts. "Services will certainly be at a lower level than in the past in many of our parks."

The first holdback was accommodated by delaying big projects and keeping vacant positions open, he said. But the latest trim will make it difficult to keep all park operations afloat until the fiscal year ends on June 30.

"Our decision will be made in the next 90 days regarding the $106,000 we need to find," Just said.

In the meantime, individual parks are making small sacrifices to prevent overspending.

Farragut chose to shut down the visitor center on its slowest days, Butt said.

"We're still trying to provide recreational services, and we've decided that instead of in the visitor center, we'd rather have them (staff) out in the field, cleaning restrooms and taking care of services," he said.

This will require visitors to pay the $5 day fee without any staff members collecting it, he said. There will be self pay stations established at every access point, he said, and all parked cars will be checked for payment confirmation.

The fee, which goes toward basic daily operations like restroom maintenance and golf course upkeep, also includes road maintenance, Butt said. So even folks just driving through still need to pay.

"I've had the complaint come directly to me that 'We don't think we should have paid. All we did was get out and use the restroom,'" he said. "Well, we do a lot of our own road maintenance and patching, so even if a person is just driving through, it's still our road they're using."

All fees collected by state parks are combined with state funding for Parks and Recreation, he said, which are distributed among parks as needed.

The visitor center will open once Parks and Recreation determines the budget plan for the rest of the fiscal year, Butt added.

Just expected the budget plan for the rest of the fiscal year will include deferred maintenance at many state parks.

Bathroom facilities will be cleaned less often, Just predicted, and fewer seasonal staff will be hired.

"It will be more difficult for people to find a person when they have a problem," he said. "It will be a different experience."

Farragut, one of the state's most popular parks that garners more than 300,000 visitors a year, probably won't see too many changes, he said.

"It's easier to cut back on smaller parks sometimes," he said.

Butt said that regardless the modifications, Farragut will still provide fun outdoor recreation, and for cheaper than a movie.

"I hate to say the term you're losing the bells and whistles, but we don't want to lose the train," he said. "We want to provide services to the greatest degree we possibly can."