CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill passed last month could possibly generate more state advertising dollars toward state parks and state forests.
The bill gives about $4.7 million worth of funding to the Courtesy Patrol system. If any money is left over, it could possibly go directly toward advertising for parks and forests.
“We just have such vast needs in the park system,” said State Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette. “We’ve identified about $90 million worth of improvements that probably ought to be made.”
Burdette said he’s visited every state park in West Virginia and knows there is a lot of work to be done because they’re so old.
“A lot of the buildings are 40+ years old. The infrastructure is old. We could probably spend $50 million and no body would ever see it,” he said.
Currently, discussions for a plan are ongoing with Burdette and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, but for now they’re using extra funds to get started.
“What we need to do is focus on those things that improve the park experience and at the same time will help us generate additional revenue that we can plow back into the parks,” Burdette said.
Only a handful of state parks turn a profit each year and lawmakers approved what equaled to emergency funding earlier this year to allow parks to meet payroll. Burdette said he believes work on areas such as water lines, roof repairs, a new sewer system and everything that makes a park “work” would get more people to the parks.
Burdette said they hope to have a plan in place before the end of the construction season this year.