Iowa’s state parks need $100M in infrastructure repairs
- Thread starter cigaretteman
- Start date
If Iowa parks are not up to your standards, or lucas' standards, or anyone else's standards, then perhaps adopting users fees would be an acceptable measure.
Why is Kim keeping all those COVID funds and not spending them on the parks, schools, roads, etc?
I pay Wisconsin and Minnesota for a yearly pass. Their parks are superior to Iowa’s.
Given how well our state is managed fiscally, why isn’t there the money to fix the deficiencies? Iowa has over $1 billion in surplus, right?
Can we send State Troopers to work on the parks instead of sending them to Texas?
We visit throughout the year. The trails are fine. Countless people on them.
The race is held in the summer. Do you think the runners get their Romancing the Stone on and hack their way through trails that are "overrun with weeds"?
Absolutely, as long as Kim didn’t redirect or mismanage the funds. I’d happily pay for better services. Our parks are shamefully mismanaged. It’s well documented.
Which bordering states have worse parks that you have been to?
Those heroes that signed up knowing what they were going to make and bitch immediately.
And?
Which parks do you enjoy in Iowa? Which parks in other states do you frequent and feel able to compare to parks in Iowa?
He will hide again, or answer with a question. He’s probably reporting me now for giving him the sads.
Yes they do Jimmy. This past Fall we visited Myre Big Island State Park in Minneosta.
Minnesota state parks vehicle permit
Learn about the Minnesota state parks vehicle permit and where to buy one. Get unlimited visits to all Minnesota state parks and recreation areas for a full year from the month of purchase!
I love how you deleted your first reply to me and then come with this a couple hours later. Much improved from your initial one.
Ledges, Backbone, Yellow River, Palisades, Pikes Peak, Red Haw and so many others. Several in South Dakota, Minneosta, Missouri, Colorado...
Lol, 69Iowa’s state parks — visited by up to 16 million people a year — need more than $100 million in repairs for fixing leaking roofs and rotting shelters and updating sewage lagoons.
And many of these beloved public spaces aren’t accessible to people with disabilities. In some cases, it’s because the parks were built decades before federal accessibility standards were enacted. But even some new state park features are not fully accessible, a former state official said.
Despite the parks’ popularity and the needed repairs, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon did not ask the Iowa Legislature this year for any additional funding. The agency is responsible for Iowa’s state parks.
“My question is: What are the legislators actually being told?” asked David Downing, who served as an Iowa DNR executive officer and parks asset manager until his retirement in January. “We're in dire straits. Everybody is afraid to talk. Nobody wants to say a word because you'll get your head handed to you.”
One of Downing’s last tasks before retirement was to prepare a presentation for district staff in November about the state of infrastructure in Iowa’s 69 state parks and four forests. The Gazette obtained this report, which included the $100 million dollar estimate, and others through an open records request. Among deficiencies identified at Eastern Iowa parks are:
- Lake Macbride, near Solon, has two shelters with rotten support beams and, like many of Iowa’s state parks, has unpainted wood structures being damaged by carpenter bees.
- The beach concession building at Pleasant Creek Recreation Area, near Palo, should be replaced with a modern restroom and new lift station.
- Palisades-Kepler State Park, near Mount Vernon, has eight buildings without gutters and some damage from the 2020 derecho has not been repaired. Several sidewalks are cracked.
- The Boy Scout lodge at Wapsipinicon State Park, near Anamosa, has a hole in the roof covered with a sheet of plywood.
Downing reported health and safety risks — such as ungrounded electrical outlets and tripping hazards — as well as septic systems and sewage lagoons that need to be replaced. Many cabins, restrooms, shelters, fishing piers, grills and tables are not handicapped accessible, he reported.
Are parks required to be accessible?
While historic state park buildings are not required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, indoor and outdoor amenities constructed or updated since March 2012 are supposed to meet regulations developed in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Justice.
“The 2010 standards really apply when making alterations,” said Molly Wuebker, founder and owner of Uncurbed, an access consulting firm based in Des Moines, and Iowa liaison for the Great Plains ADA Center. When a structure or amenity is altered, a portion of the project budget must be allocated to address accessibility, she said. “If you’re developing a new area, then everything would need to meet those 2010 ADA standards.”
That hasn’t always happened within Iowa’s state park system, Downing said. An example is the campground at Lake Manawa, near Council Bluffs, completed in 2021 at a cost of $3.3 million.
“It's beautiful,” Downing said. It’s also “short two ADA parking spots.”
Lawsuits in other states have resulted in outdoor recreation sites improving handicapped accessibility, Wuebker said.
“Usually those changes seem to be enforced after the problem has occurred,” she said. “What's really great when you have an organization that prioritizes this. We want to prevent a problem from even happening.”
Palisades-Kepler Park Ranger Lucas Wagner said Jan. 1 on the First Day Hike he hoped the Iowa DNR would be able to replace non-historic latrines that aren’t handicapped accessible. The pit latrine closest to the trailhead by the Cedar River is on a hill with no paved approach.
Another nearby latrine has a sidewalk, but it doesn’t reach all the way to the parking lot.
Replacing two latrines at Palisades would cost about $130,000, according to a 2019 list of 655 state park projects. These projects were given the highest score of AAA for how well they fit with Iowa DNR initiatives, return on investment and the severity of consequences if not done. But the old latrines remain.
Report: Iowa’s state parks need $100M in infrastructure repairs, updates
Many of these beloved public spaces aren’t accessible to people with disabilities. In some cases, it’s because the parks were built decades before federal accessibility standards were enacted. But even some new state park features are not fully accessible, a former state official said.www.thegazette.com
I was going to say, public schools need money. It's great to raise teacher salary across the board, I appreciate that. Two things can be true that districts are extremely negligent with money AND still need more.
Why do they good such good reviews then?
Ledges 4.8 out of 5 stars.
Backbone 4.7
Palisades 4.7
Pikes Peak 4.8
and so on and so on...
Because people either only use part of the park or don't want to admit the truth. Iowa has some beautiful state parks but we aren't talking topography here. If you take an objective look at the facilities and amenities. Iowa's parks are severely lacking.
The Ledges Park is quite nice but it is a shadow of what it should be…….the same can be said for Backbone.
Where are these reviews from, and what metrics were used? There are probably posters that consistently rank you a 4.8.. That doesn't mean you are good at this.
Let's recap:
A report is released detailing a shocking backlog of basic maintenance at Iowa's state parks. You can't refute that.
When asked what parks you enjoy you name a single park, which is on the list of parks with large numbers of costly repairs needed, and you ignore any blemishes you undoubtedly saw. Clearly you never used a bathroom at Ledges. They are a disgrace.
In order to deflect you state that Iowa is well run, and lives within it's means, ignoring the large budget surplus that you normally promote. Iowa has 10x the money needed to clear up the backlog of needed repairs.
When you claim Iowa has better parks than neighboring states you can't name a state park in another state that you have visited.
Because apparently the parks aren't asking for the money?
Despite the parks’ popularity and the needed repairs, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon did not ask the Iowa Legislature this year for any additional funding. The agency is responsible for Iowa’s state parks.
I never claimed they were "better".
I named a state park in another state. I can name several more in multiple states.
Kayla Lyon is another don't do anything place holder appointed to a post over her head by our Governor. She came from working with the "enemies" of our parks and environment areas-agribusiness and farmers.
I do disagree with the criticisms that our our parks as not all that good-they seem just fine to us and we would pay a fee if it actually went to the parks.
Remember this is the state that passed outdoor recreation trust legislation years ago-AND STILL HAS NEVER FUNDED IT!
I do disagree with the criticisms that our our parks as not all that good-they seem just fine to us and we would pay a fee if it actually went to the parks.
Remember this is the state that passed outdoor recreation trust legislation years ago-AND STILL HAS NEVER FUNDED IT!
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