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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4081704.html

July 30, 2006

ENDANGERED SITES -  State park funds derailed
Railroad may be the first to close as money has been cut and diverted
By MARK BABINECK


RUSK - The venerable Texas State Railroad may run from here to Palestine, but it's about to get sidetracked in Austin.

The 110-year-old railroad is the most endangered of the 114 properties in the state parks system, which is going on the offensive for increased funding after more than a decade of tight budgets that have led to decaying facilities and reduced services.

But even if lawmakers pour money into the parks system during the next legislative session, the old-time steam engines in East Texas are set to become fixed museum pieces at year's end.

"They're not only threatening to close down the railroad, but they're also threatening to close down a lot of state parks," visitor Travis Shelton said, referring to the recently announced prospect that further budget cuts could shutter as many as 18 low-performing state parks.

"Any time we as Texans lose any part of the state parks we have, we're all losing. They need to do something to increase the budget," said Shelton, 65, who was on a visit to the East Texas railroad with his wife and two grandchildren.

Years of thin budgets and legislators' siphoning of sporting-goods sales taxes intended for parks have taken a toll statewide that only a large infusion of cash can reverse, parks advocates say.

But it appears to be too late for the railroad operating as a park attraction.

"Best I can determine, we're either going to become a static display, or (local railroad boosters are) going to find a private operator," said Robert Crossman, the railroad's superintendent. "Nobody has come back to me and said, 'If funding greatly improves, y'all are going to continue to operate.' "Ellen Buchanan, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department regional director, said she's been told her agency will not keep operating the trains even if funding increases in the next legislative session. Crossman is hopeful money can be found to keep it rolling a bit beyond the planned Dec. 31 closure, but he isn't optimistic.

"Everybody realizes if we become static, even for a short period of time, that makes the whole (privatization push) much more difficult," said Crossman, who said potential suitors would be less intrigued by a mothballed asset.

The 25-mile railroad is targeted because Texas Parks and Wildlife Department records indicate it loses $1.6 million a year, nearly equivalent to the next three biggest money-losers combined: the San Jacinto Battleground, Goliad and LBJ state historical parks.

When the trains simultaneously leave the Rusk and Palestine stations, only one is a vintage steam engine because the other three are out of service. Operators say the system is expensive because of constant maintenance of rolling stock and rails and needs millions of dollars in delayed repairs, and the state has grown tired of footing the bill.


A bleak outlook

Budget woes have left fingerprints across the state.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has struggled for more than a decade with budget constraints that have included, along with other state agencies, a 5 percent cut for the 2006-07 biennium. The effect has been staff cuts, curtailed hours and deferred maintenance, and other parks eventually could land on the chopping block if funding doesn't improve for 2008.

More than half the state's parks, historical sites and other preserves have considered or enacted service limitations because of money problems. They include the slowed reconstruction of Sea Rim State Park after Hurricane Rita, and the Sunday-Tuesday closure of the Varner-Hogg State Historic Site in Brazoria County.

Penny-pinching for more than a decade also has affected quality, said Walt Dabney, the state's parks director.

"We're absolutely in the ditch," Dabney said.

Dabney fondly recalls working at the Inks Lake State Park near Burnet as an intern in the late 1960s. And then there's the recent memory of a visit to the rest rooms he once cleaned.

"They are absolutely amazing. Just worn out," Dabney said. "You can see the building is literally collapsing in on itself."


More cuts ordered

To add to the budget concerns, Gov. Rick Perry has asked most state agencies to submit a budget cut by 10 percent to the Legislative Budget Board before making requests for more money. The exercise, designed as a starting point to keep the state lean, would mean finding another $6 million a year to excise from the parks system if finalized by lawmakers next year.

"You start down this Legislative Budget Board process and we're already down to the bare bones, then they say, 'Cut it another 10 percent,' " said George Bristol, vice chairman of the Texas State Parks Advisory Committee, which was created by Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission Chairman Joseph Fitzsimmons to look at the system's money troubles.

"You say, 'It's either (closing) 18 parks and some department support, or it's the five parks that are the biggest money losers,' " said Bristol, who quickly explained why the latter is not an option. "We can't shut down the San Jacinto Monument, for God's sake. You can't shut down Washington-on-the-Brazos. You can't shut down LBJ State Park."

Bristol said the advisory committee has determined the parks system needs about $85 million more a year to cover operating expenses and local park grants along with debt service on as much as a 10-year, $400 million revenue bond for backlogged repairs, upgrades and land acquisition.


Tapping what's already there

Bristol said there's a revenue stream already in place. The 13-year-old sporting-goods tax brings in about $105 million, meaning it could meet the committee's suggested funding increase. But only $15.5 million is earmarked for state parks, with another $5 million tabbed for local parks in Texas.

Including the park system's take from user fees and other traditional income sources, Bristol's committee foresees a parks budget that more than doubles from the current $59 million to as much as $140 million without any new taxes.

Park operations and payroll have accounted for about .08 percent of the total Texas budget in each of the past five years, according to state figures. They received at least twice that share until funding dropped off after 1992.

Legislators switched park funding from cigarette taxes to sporting-goods sales taxes in 1993, then capped the amount dedicated to parks at $32 million. More recently, lawmakers have skimmed nearly $12 million of that into the general fund.

Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, plans to refile a bill raising the cap, said his chief of staff, Todd Kercheval. Last session, Hilderbran filed a bill that would have raised it to $85 million, but it didn't pass.

"We would hope we could either tie (park funding) to economic growth or some sort of indicator so we wouldn't always have to be going back and fixing the problem after the fact," Bristol said. "If the sporting-goods tax (allocations) had been allowed to grow, the numbers were always there."


Hot-button issue

Despite the flat or declining funding, park revenues rose to $32.2 million last year, and their statewide economic impact is estimated at $1.2 billion annually, according to the Parks and Wildlife Department.

The parks issue came to the forefront last autumn when the Parks and Wildlife Commission mulled over the sale of 46,000 acres of rugged wilderness at Big Bend Ranch State Park, which abuts the more famous Big Bend National Park in far West Texas. Public outcry helped persuade commissioners to unanimously reject the proposal and shed light on the agency's financial struggles.

It's also become a hot political topic, with Perry's three main challengers blaming the governor for the current state of affairs.

"This is pathetic," Democratic candidate Chris Bell said. "It makes no sense whatsoever. The state park system is part of our heritage and considered by an overwhelming majority of Texans to be one of the treasures in this state."

Independent candidate Kinky Friedman cited the Big Bend brouhaha: "Where has Texas gone? One example of that is the kind of person that would try to sell 46,000 acres (of parkland)."

Like the other gubernatorial challengers, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn supports tapping the sporting-goods tax for park spending.

"She does not want any of the parks sold or closed," said the independent's campaign spokesman, Mark Sanders. "Last year, she was the only statewide elected official who stood up and said, 'Absolutely not.' "

Last week, Perry also came out in favor of rededicating the sporting-goods tax to parks, although he did not swear off selling land in certain situations.

"The governor does have a deep concern about the adequacy of funding for parks," spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.

Libertarian James Werner said he, unlike the other four candidates, doesn't think more tax money is the answer and instead supports private land trusts to preserve open spaces.

"We should not try to wring more blood out of the taxpayer stone," Werner said.

Dabney, a career parks man, said the issue is about money and not politics, and both major parties have held the purse strings since 1992.

"This isn't a Democratic thing or a Republican thing, and it has happened over a long time," Dabney said. "People didn't realize how bad it was getting and now they do, and I think there's a genuine interest."

There seems to be little interest in keeping the Texas State Railroad running on the taxpayers' watch, however. The line, which once hauled iron ore and tomatoes before becoming economically unfeasible, began ferrying tourists in 1976.

Palestine and Rusk say the trains have at least a $5 million economic impact. But like dozens of Texas State Railroad co-workers, fireman Robert Gore faces the ultimate economic impact if the boilers go cold for good.

"It's hard to imagine the people in charge in Austin would let it go," he said.

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