Brenda Weaver is gathering allies to help Max V. Shaul State Park––and possibly Mine Kill State Park––stay open.
The Gilboa resident hopes to convince the legislature that Shaul Park shouldn’t be a casualty in Governor David Paterson’s budget-cutting measure released Friday.
“We want to be proactive on this,” said Ms. Weaver, who’s vice chair of Friends of Mine Kill, which also covers Shaul Park.
“Our area tends to be too quiet on issues because we’re small. This park is part of our community and the county as a whole.”
Max V. Shaul in Fultonham is one of nine state parks or historic sites slated to be closed in the Saratoga-Capital Region of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Statewide, the Governor called for closing 41 parks and 14 historic sites in order to cut $29 million and help the state close its $8.2 billion budget gap.
A list of projected park closures was apparently leaked to the Times-Union earlier in the week. Mine Kill, in North Blenheim, was on the early list.
However, Governor Paterson plans to increase park fees statewide by $4 million and move $5 million from Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) in order to keep some parks open, including Mine Kill.
Ms. Weaver, however, isn’t convinced Mine Kill is safe.
Friends of Mine Kill met Friday night with Assemblyman Pete Lopez. Ms. Weaver said they’re concerned that if the legislature doesn’t move the $5 million from the EPF to the parks budget, Mine Kill may close, too.
The Friends will lobby the legislature to offer suggestions for keeping both parks––and others slated for closure––open for the public.
“What about cutting the budgets of all parks by 10 percent instead of closing some?” Ms. Weaver asked. “And I know some people won’t like this, but what about privatization of some parks..”
Or, she suggested, selling naming rights to parks, as the Knickerbocker Arena became the Pepsi Center and now, the Times-Union Center.
Ms. Weaver also questioned how much the state would actually save by closing parks and historic sites because even closed facilities would require maintenance.
An official at the Saratoga-Capital Region headquarters in Saratoga, who asked to remain anonymous, agreed with Ms. Weaver.
“The agency has police and rangers who would have to make sure people aren’t going in when they shouldn’t be,” the official said.
“If the parks are closed, there still has to be maintenance to protect the public’s investment in them.”
This week, the Friends of Mine Kill will begin their campaign to make sure the local parks remain open.
“We’ll do our part,” Ms. Weaver said. “This first thing is to get people together to reach out to the legislature.”
Other parks and historic sites slated to be closed in the region include Thacher State Park and Schuyler Mansion Historic Site in Albany County; Johnson Hall State Historic Site in Fulton County; Schoharie Crossing Historic Site in Montgomery county; and Bennington Battlefield State Park, Hudson River Islands State Park and Schodack Island State park in Rensselaer County.