PARKS OFFICIALS LOOK TO 2011
It was a rough start to the summer season at Thousand Islands area state parks, and although those sites had some success by season's end, parks officials already are worried about next year.
Kevin A. Kieff, director of the Thousand Islands Region of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said many issues with the 2010-11 state budget process delayed the opening of some sites here. Worried a similar situation may occur next year, he said parks staffers will try not to get ahead of themselves with 2011 programming.
"That really did keep some people not knowing if their favorite park would be open or not," he said. "We learned some of our parks were going to be open literally the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, so we'd hope to have that uncertainty in the budget process resolved."
In the Thousand Islands park system, seven parks — Keewaydin, Eel Weir, Mary Island, Canoe-Picnic Point, Cedar Island, Macomb Reservation and Point au Roche — and the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site were on the closing list for the 2010-11 state budget because of a proposed $485,000 spending cut for the regional office.
The state Legislature passed a bill in late May keeping those parks open. Mr. Kieff said all of them have bounced back nicely, including the battlefield site.
Constance B. Barone, battlefield site manager, said although she did not have revenue figures at her fingertips, the site did OK considering it opened in May, a month later than normal.
Since Monday was the site's last official open day, Mrs. Barone said she is awaiting word from state officials to see whether the site could remain open on weekends through Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 9 and 10.
To help make up for the month lost earlier this year, Mrs. Barone said, she would like to concentrate on increasing visits during the off-season by participating in more Sackets Harbor Experience tours.
Each tour, for groups of at least 20 people who have made arrangements with a motor coach and paid a $10 per person fee, spends three hours touring the village and making pit stops at the battlefield, visitors center, Pickering-Beach Museum and Seaway Trail Discovery Center.
"I think it's different, and shows people just want this, even in the off-season," Mrs. Barone said. "We'll try to offer them until the snow flies and drifts."
Mr. Kieff said he hopes for a successful 2011 season, especially since Labor Day weekend was the busiest for area state parks. Despite the rain, he said, approximately 2,000 of the Thousand Island region's campsites were booked from Saturday to Monday.
"For the holiday weekend, it's on par," Mr. Kieff said.
There also was an increase in revenue from the day-use picnic and swimming visits, from $253,000 in 2009 to $315,000 in 2010. A small portion of that was because of the $1 fee increase for vehicles at both Westcott Beach State Park in the town of Henderson and Southwick Beach State Park in the town of Ellisburg.
Day-use entry fees for those parks are $8 per vehicle, while all others in the region are $7.
