STATE PARKS COMMITTEE MINUTES Historic Washington State Park, Washington, AR April 18, 2018

Committee Members Present Jim Shamburger Kaleen Griffith John Gill Cindy Smith Ron Gossage Mike Wilson

Committee Members Absent Eric Jackson Danny Ford Bill Barnes Ness Sechrest

Staff Present Shea Lewis Mike Farringer Joe Jacobs LaJeana Carroll Jeff King Kris Richardson Mike Wilson

Guests Present Jennifer Morgan Brandi Childress

Call to Order Committee Chair Jim Shamburger called the meeting to order at 10:35 am.

Shea Lewis welcomed the Parks Committee to Historic Washington State Park. Lewis provided an overview of the recent events within State Parks.

ASP Top Chef Competition Lewis stated this program is encouraging for park staff, building team spirit and collaboration. Commissioner Mike Wilson noted the creativity shown by the Skillet Restaurant team to compete and win in spite of chicken not available for their team. This competition shows staff creativity and builds morale. This event received good coverage in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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Central Office Reorganization Lewis announced ASP Central office staff have rearranged offices and included in the reorganization are creative workspaces to encourage collaboration.

Spring Game at WMS Lewis stated the spring game was a success in spite of the very cold weather. The University of Arkansas estimated 7,000 attendees, ASP estimated a little higher, but it was hard to estimate with attendees moving in and out of the concourse area. Discussion ensued.

Woolly Hollow State Park Visitor Center Lewis announced the dedication and ribbon cutting for the Woolly Hollow Visitor Center scheduled for April 27, 2018. The park staff has received great feedback from visitors on the new facility. Lewis noted the old visitor center will be adapted to use as an educational space. Discussion ensued.

Division of Building Authority Legislation Lewis reported that during the special legislative session, a law was passed to change the working relationship with Division of Building Authority (DBA). The new law will exempt ASP from DBA review on trail projects; structures such as bridges and tunnels will still require DBA approval.

Quail Forever Event at Pinnacle Mountain State Park Lewis mentioned a recent partnership with Big Rock Quail Forever (BRQF), Arkansas Game & Fish Commission (AGFC), and Arkansas Master Naturalists resulted in turning a green space into a natural prairie, in hopes of quail returning to Pinnacle Mountain State Park. ASP anticipates a continuing partnership in other state parks.

Historic Washington State Park Bypass Lewis stated that Kane Webb, Grady Spann and John Gill met last week to discuss a proposed Washington bypass to reroute truck traffic around the town and park. Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) is willing to partner with ASP, however, the project is a low priority. ARDOT proposed to do the initial planning and requests ASP to pay for the property associated with the proposed bypass. The first step needed is ARDOT provides a survey to lay out the route for the bypass. John Gill suggested if funds become available ASP would acquire properties easements for the route. Discussion ensued.

John Gill moved to propose the Parks Committee recommend the State Parks Recreation, and Travel Commission approve the concept of a highway bypass around

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Historic Washington State Park. If funds become available, the State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission undertake acquisition of the right of way once the Arkansas Highway Commission has developed specific plans for the proposed bypass route. This is subject to reaching an agreement with the Arkansas Highway Commission. Cindy Smith seconded. And the motion passed.

Flooded Parks Lewis reported the heavy rain in March affected several parks. Several parks experienced flooding in March; DeGray Lake Resort State Park (DLRSP), , , and Moro Bay State Park. All but DLRSP avoided much damage, due to record level floods. Damages at DLRSP included flooding of the pool pump house, equipment and lift stations. This area was not declared a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) event, however may receive Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) partial reimbursement for damages. Lewis stated ASP estimates $235,761 loss of revenue for DLRSP during March flooding.

Lewis stated DLRSP DeRoche Ridge campground was scheduled to reopen the day the park closed for flooding. Floods exposed the new camp ground structures were not built to specifications and most of the retaining walls have failed. ASP is working with the bonding company and the contractor to provide a solution for the campground project.

Lake Bennett Dam – Lewis reported that reconstruction of the dam should begin soon and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will fund 75% of the repairs and provide engineering oversight for the construction project.

Budget Presentation Process Mike Wilson advised that the parks begin working on budgets for the next fiscal year in January each year. Wilson gave a brief overview of the budget process for ASP. Wilson advised that Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism (ADPT) has been asked to cut $1.3 million from General Revenue. Of this amount, approximately $900,000 will be cut from the ASP budget. Discussion ensued. Ron Gossage declared the 1/8 cent was voted in to maintain the facilities and was not ever meant to replace General Revenue. Shea Lewis mentioned ADPT was not singled out; all state agencies have been asked to cut their budgets.

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High Level P&L Snapshot, Top 10 Revenue Parks Joe Jacobs reported AASIS is not geared to provide a profit and loss statement. ASP is working on a way to show expenses and revenue on the dashboard. In the meantime, ASP will use report revenue. In March 2018, 8 out of top 10 parks have cabins or lodges; Crater of Diamonds and Historic Washington probably due to Jonquil Festival and other parks being lower because of flooding. During the month of March 2018 the top 10 parks generated $1.9 million in revenue and ASP total revenue was $2,517,000.

Top 10 revenue producing state parks for March 2018: Mount Magazine State Park Crater of Diamonds State Park Queen Wilhelmina State Park Devil’s Den State Park State Park Lake Catherine State Park Historic Washington State Park DeGray Lake Resort State Park Village Creek State Park

ASP occupancy rates for 2018 January 6.85, February 9.12, and March was 35.26 exactly the same occupancy as for March 2017; the first month for the new reservation system online.

High-Level Overview, Top 10 Revenue Buckets Joe Jacobs reported the following revenue items are tracked monthly: cabins, camping, swimming fees, gift shops, slip rentals, marina rentals, lodges, and restaurants. ASP does not track concessionaires as a revenue item to watch because ASP has no control over their operations. Active Network allows an in-depth look by facility type at each park to use this information for planning. ASP is seeing an increase in camping reservations and reporting has shown that half of reservations are from out of state.

Personnel Developments Shea Lewis reported the following promotions/transfers/departures: Steve Wilson retiring Superintendent at Woolly Hollow State Park Matt Woodard promoted to Superintendent at Woolly Hollow State Park Janelle Shepard promoted to Superintendent at Queen Wilhelmina State Park Jordan Thomas promoted to Planning & Development Chief Planner Davy Ashcraft promoted to Superintendent at Cossatot River State Park

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Daniel Shelman promoted to Assistant Superintendent at Cossatot River State Park

Lewis announced the following honors/recognitions: Kelly Farrell – Master Distinguished Professional Interpreter Award – NAI Region 6 Terry Rutledge – Platinum Excellence Award - PLEA

Capital Projects Jeff King provided a revised Capital Improvement Projects spreadsheet showing the top 14 larger projects; the revision allows the data to be captured and used for the new ASP Dashboard.

ASP Dashboard Jeff King informed the Parks Committee about the design and work that has been started on the ASP Dashboard. Utilizing existing GIS data and providing a simple overview of the progress of current projects. The dashboard will also be used to track financial information, emergency services incidents, major maintenance projects, and interpretive/educational programs. Discussion ensued.

Emergency Services Shea Lewis reported several parks are having significant issues with feral hogs destroying habitat. Mike Wilson has been working with an ASP feral hog committee and ASP is purchasing traps to reduce the number of feral hogs in the parks. Discussion ensued.

Marketing Expenditures/Planning Jennifer Morgan provided an overview of the proposed ASP marketing expenditures for FY19. The FY19 budget $1.4 million includes $741,090 for total media placement, which includes an additional $100,000. During pre-meetings with ASP it was decided to reduce the number of campaigns from five to three to increase the impact with the budget available. General State Parks focusing on outdoor enthusiast, camping, and lodging receiving 46% of the overall budget $340,238.

General consumer and meetings and reunions in lodge parks changing the look and adding AARP print and digital with a focus on filling mid-week vacancies; $281,119 budgeted. Ozark Folk Center State Park focusing on bringing younger visitors and designing a new look for the ads $119,733 budgeted.

In addition, the proposed advertisement production budget includes $140,000 budgeted for video, television, and radio production, $105,000 for ASP guidebooks, $35,000 for brochures

5 and profile sheets, $ 15,000 for the Arkansas Press Association partnership support. Added this year, the Ozark Highlands Radio will receive a small budget for public relations budget. The ASP website portion of the FY 19 budget is $310,000. Discussion ensued.

The Parks Committee meeting was adjourned at 12:15 pm on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

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