STATE PARKS Parking fees start by May 1

An Austintown state rep was among those voting to allow the new charge.
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will have a parking fee at the state's parks up and running by May 1, Director Sam Speck said Monday.
The Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, a committee of Ohio House and Senate members that reviews state agency rules, voted Monday to uphold the new fee, which the state parks department says is necessary to help keep up Ohio's state parklands.
"We think the alternative we have of letting the quality of the [park] facilities erode ... is such that we have to offer this at this time," Speck said.
Under the ODNR plan, Ohio residents will pay $5 daily per vehicle or can buy an annual pass for $25, state officials say.
Senior citizens with Golden Buckeye discount cards can buy $4 daily passes or $20 annual passes, state officials say. Non-Ohio residents would pay $6 for daily passes or $30 for an annual one, state officials say.
Revenue projections
Speck said the plan should generate about $400,000 from May 1 to July 1, the beginning of the next state fiscal year. Speck said the plan could generate $3 million in the first full year and $5 million in the second year.
Speck said that his department has cut costs in the recent years but that the new fee is needed.
"We've tried to become more efficient," Speck said.
Speck said there were fewer than 500 full-time parks employees last year, down from what other parks officials have said was 607 full-time employees in 2000.
State parks have also made reductions in maintenance and closed campgrounds and lesser used areas of state parks during certain times of the year, ODNR officials said. The state parks have also raised fees for visitors to stay in cabins and use boat docks and campgrounds, ODNR officials said.
Impact on usage a concern
Opponents of the fee said it will affect park use for some, including those from lower incomes.
State Sen. Dan Brady, a Cleveland Democrat, said Edgewater State Park that abuts Lake Erie near Cleveland has many people who visit it as a break from the surrounding urban area. And many children sled in the park in the winter, Brady said.
"These are kids of modest means," Brady said. "It's not the kind of park you can walk into."
The fee also drew opposition from the League of Ohio Sportsmen, which indicated that the parking fee would amount to an increase on hunting and fishing licenses.
"Nearly every angler or hunter utilizes a state park every year," said Larry Mitchell, president of the 200,000-member league.
State Sen. Timothy J. Grendell, a Chesterland Republican who sits on JCARR, moved to invalidate the fee on several grounds including that ODNR has no specific legal authority to impose a parking fee and that the fee doesn't promote the use of state parks.
But that motion failed 7-3.
State Reps. Kenneth A. Carano, an Austintown Democrat; Fred Strahorn, a Dayton Democrat; Keith Faber, a Celina Republican; Merle Grace Kearns, a Springfield Republican; Scott Oelslager, a Canton Republican and state Sens. Jay Hottinger, a Newark Republican; and Robert Schuler, a Mason Republican, all voted to uphold the fee.
Invalidation attempt fails
Grendell joined state Sens. Kimberly Zurz, a Green Democrat and state Sen. Charlie Wilson, a St. Clairsville Democrat, in voting unsuccessfully to invalidate the fee.
JCARR reviews state agency rules to make sure they do not exceed the scope of the agency's authority and do not conflict with the Legislature's intent in enacting state laws.
The body also reviews rules to make sure the state agency has prepared a complete and accurate rule summary and fiscal analysis.
Faber said he and others expect to review the fee as part of Gov. Bob Taft's proposed two-year, $51.3 billion state budget proposal pending before the Legislature.
The current, two-year, $48 billion state budget expires June 30, and the next state spending plan must be enacted by July 1.