Raystown Lake officials ponder ways to make budget stretch
By Cori Bolger, cbolger@altoonamirror.comHESSTON - Raystown Lake officials are exploring several scenarios, including the reduction of personnel and services next year, to meet a proposed budget reduced by $1.2 million by the federal government.
The tentative 2008-09 budget, presented to federal officials in February, is awaiting approval from the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate before the president adds his signature.
Early numbers in the $3.3 million budget show a 27 percent cut in funding to three departments of the project: flood damage reduction, recreation and environmental stewardship.
While the budget cuts flood damage reduction money by 54 percent, recreation will see the brunt of the impact, said Dwight Beall, Raystown operations manager.
''Flood damage reduction is Raystown's priority,'' he said. ''We'll need to reallocate internal resources to cover that significant budgetary shortfall.''
Although Raystown officials planned to gather input from local government officials, business owners and stakeholders at meetings in September, those plans were put on hold this week pending further discussion.
''We'll look at the pros and cons and see if they want to add anything to help us make a final decision,'' Beall said. ''Anything and everything is on the table.''
A public forum also is in the works for this fall. Officials will publish various scenarios on the Raystown Web site and ask for visitor feedback by e-mail.
''Raystown is one of the most community-based projects I've worked on,'' Beall said. ''The people who come here think it's theirs, so we have to have a fair, honest and transparent process.''
Among other options, officials are considering shortening the season by opening facilities later and closing them earlier or closing one or more recreational areas for the entire year.
Raystown attracts about half of the 5.6 million people that visit Huntingdon County each year, said Matt Price, executive director of the Huntingdon County Visitors Bureau.
The financial crunch comes at a time when Raystown is experiencing an unusually high volume of overnight visitors but a drop in the number of daytime visitors.
''I think the budget could have a significant impact,'' Price said. ''We will work closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect the services that have always been available, especially from Memorial Day to Labor Day.''
Educating the public on what to expect is part of the challenge. If staff numbers are cut in half, for example, the level of service to the public also will be reduced.
Raystown employs 16 full-time staff members and 22 seasonal staff members, including park rangers and maintenance personnel.
Melissa Herheim, a full-time Raystown park ranger, said the cutbacks will present a dramatic change for visitors, and she doesn't want them to be caught off-guard.
The ranger staff has been preparing for changes in its work schedule. Herheim hopes the cutbacks can be made with the least impact to the visitors and the facility.
''The impacts are also going to be felt on our staff,'' Herheim said. ''For instance, visitors have a ranger on each boat launch for most of the day now, but with the cutbacks, rangers may float from ramp to ramp and visitors won't have that immediate person to go to.''
Reductions in Raystown's budget are among about 400 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facilities across the country that face major budget cuts this year, so the challenge is not an isolated one.
Raising the prices of camping and other services to ease the financial strain isn't an option, Beall said. Those funds go back into the U.S. Department of the Treasury and wouldn't directly benefit Raystown.
''We're all looking at reductions in operating costs in some form or fashion,'' Beall said. ''It's the general nature of the economy that's taking its toll.''
Jim Walter, whose family regularly boats on the lake, said it would be a shame if Raystown was forced to shut down any recreation areas or services.
''They have real nice camp sites and they're always booked full, so that would be a big loss to the community,'' said Walter of Martinsburg.
Walter is most concerned about the cutbacks to the patrolling of boat launches. Doing so might also reduce the number of access points to the lake and impact how many people use it, he said.
''They should be able to come up with some extra money to keep Raystown as it has been operated in past years,'' he said. ''Their money could be better spent.''
