Great news this afternoon.  The legislature voted to provide funding to the state parks in line with the agreement reached with governor Paterson yesterday.  We would like to thank Senator David Valesky and Assemblyman Bill Magee for their support in fighting to keep the parks open. 

The Albany Times Union filed this story:

ALBANY -- The state Senate just approved a measure that would open the now-closed 55 parks and historic sites across the state -- an action that came some 12 hours after the Assembly voted for the same bill, and just hours before the Memorial Day weekend begins for most New Yorkers.
Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=935822#ixzz0pGFHwG2D
 
 
The deal reached yesterday by the Governor and leaders of the legislature will go to a vote in front of both house of the legislature today.  The Albany Times Union has a great story on the process this morning.  A yes vote will mean the parks should be open this weekend.  While robbing from the Environmental Protection Fund is not an ideal solution, keeping the parks open makes an impact on many more New Yorkers than the EPF Fund does.  Governor Paterson seemed determined to slash funding for this program anyhow, so preserving the parks with those cuts is a win that comes out of what could long term be seen as a poor decision.  As a side note, a big thank you to both Assemblyman Bill Magee and Senator David Valesky who have been fighting to find ways to keep the parks open, and who with the other legislators, kept the pressure on the Governor's office to find a solution.
 
 
(AP)--New York Gov. David Paterson said Thursday that an agreement has been reached to have all 178 state parks open for the Memorial Day weekend. "The Legislature has made the tough choices to my satisfaction that will enable us to open the parks," Paterson said. His administration had listed 41 parks and 14 of the state's 35 historic sites for closing, along with service cuts at others, to help close the state's budget gap.
Paterson said negotiations that ended early Thursday morning would provide $11 million for full operations this year, effectively offset by money from the Environmental Protection Fund, which would be cut by about $74 million. The measure is also expected to keep the historic sites open this year, as well as Department of Environmental Conservation campgrounds targeted for closing.
"We've come to a deal to approximately cut about what I proposed in the original budget," Paterson said on WOR radio 710's "The John Gambling Show." "The bad news is it has taken about four days to find $11 million dollars to keep the parks open."
Lawmakers wanted smaller cuts in the fund dedicated to conservation programs like buying land and recycling. They balked earlier in the week at Paterson's proposal linking those cuts to restored park funding. Meanwhile, they've been getting calls from constituents unhappy about park closings, especially with the warm weather and approaching holiday weekend.
"We have the framework for an agreement, but the specific details are still being discussed by our members prior to any final approval from the Senate," said Austin Shafran, spokesman for the majority Senate Democratic Conference.
The Senate and Assembly were expected to vote on the plan later in the day, enabling parks staff to have gates open Friday. The legislation was being drafted Thursday afternoon.
According to administration officials, lawmakers need to find another $2 billion to $2.5 billion in spending cuts to close the deficit and adopt a balanced budget of roughly $130 billion for this year. Democratic and Republican legislative leaders agreed Tuesday to have conference committees of rank-and-file legislators try to find more cuts based on broad parameters that staffs were to identify by Thursday. The budget was due April 1.
Paterson said he has proposed a balanced budget, which differs from Senate and Assembly proposals by about $100 million in health care and up to $800 million in education spending.
While budget talks continue, Shafran said no conference committee meetings were scheduled for Thursday.

The Albany Times Union has more on the story.
 
 
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The big news out of Albany last night was that the Senate drafted and passed a bill requiring the governor to open ALL of the state parks and historic sites.  Of course the bill didn't address how to pay for it on an ongoing basis, but it did pass.  Thank you Senator Dave Valesky for your YES vote on this.  Now its on to the Assembly where a similar bill should pass.  Here are some links to stories about the latest developments.  After the jump you can read Senator Jose Serrano's press release about his bill. We are hearing this morning that a deal is imminent and an announcement is scheduled for late morning in Albany.
News Channel 9
Lower Hudson Politics Blog
Albany Times Union
Syracuse.com
Cnycentral.com
 
 
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Word came down from the state yesterday that Chittenango Falls State Park would be closing along with Helen McNitt until the state could pass a budget.  Below is a statement that sums up Madison County Tourism's position on the closing.









Statement on the Closing of State Parks  from Madison County Tourism, Inc.
 
(Morrisville)—It has come to the attention of this office that Chittenango Falls State Park and Helen McNitt State Park, both in Madison County, will not open for the season starting tomorrow.  The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation indicates this is a temporary closure until a budget with funding for the parks is approved by the legislature.  This comes on top of the announcement this week that the I Love NY tourism promotion plan for 2010 is effectively dead on arrival.

Madison County Tourism, Inc. feels this is an unfortunate consequence of a failed legislative process.  The citizens of New York State have elected representatives to govern, yet the process of putting a fiscally responsible budget in place has yet again failed.  Even worse it appears that our elected officials have no timetable and no sense of urgency to put a budget in place.  While our elected leaders in the legislature stall, Upstate’s Tourism economy faces dire threats.

 This delay has resulted in the closure of one of the most popular tourism attractions in Madison County.  Chittenango Falls State Park hosts weddings, family reunions and is a place where hard working New York residents and visitors can enjoy the majesty of nature.  The inability of our elected officials to do their jobs has closed that attraction.

We call on State Senator David Valesky and Assemblyman Bill Magee to stop participating in the traditional 3-men in a room budget solution and to work across the aisle and find a budget solution that will benefit Upstate New York.  As the Senate and Assembly bicker, the tourism economy in Upstate is dying on the vine.
 
 
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A story in today's Post Standard says that closing the state parks will have little impact on the state's budget deficit.  Due to lost tax revenue we still think it will have the opposite effect.

Syracuse, NY -- State officials on Friday recommended closing dozens of state parks to fill New York’s budget gap, a move that would affect hundreds of thousands of Central New Yorkers and produce minimal savings.
The $6.3 million saved through proposed park closures would amount to a fraction of 1 percent of the state’s $8.2 billion budget gap.
On the same day state officials said they need to close the parks to make the state solvent, they gave millions of dollars in grants to private companies — more than enough money to save every park.
Gov. David Paterson and parks Commissioner Carol Ash announced Friday they want to close or reduce services at 64 state parks and 15 historic sites statewide. Central New York risks losing six parks, two beaches and two historic sites if the Legislature approves the plan. More than 300,000 people a year use the targeted parks in Central New York alone.
See a complete list of proposed park closures.
“In an environment when we have to cut funding to schools, hospitals, nursing homes and social services, no area of state spending — including parks and historic sites — could be exempt from reductions,” Paterson said.
 
 
The list of state parks slated for closure under the 2010 state budget proposed by Governor David A. Patterson is out this afternoon and two parks in Madison County are on the chopping block.  The Governor, has chosen to shutter Chittenango Falls State Park and Helen McNitt State Park along Cazenovia Lake.  Of course there is a long way to go before the state parks are officially closed, and the legislature has to approve the closings, but as of today you better get your last pictures of the falls before they are closed forever. 
You can rest assured that we here at Madison County Tourism will be pulling out all of the stops to try and stop the shut down of this regional icon, but with the state budget for 2010 it is a crap shoot as to how successful we will be.  Do you want to help?  Contact your state representative, and tell them a personal story about your time at a state park and how important the parks are to our quality of life and economic future in Upstate New York.