Park fans gather to hear plans, wishes for Cheaha

March 31--CHEAHA STATE PARK -- After hearing how the state parks are trying to attract younger visitors, a woman told the director of Alabama State Parks Monday that he was overlooking the one thing that might attract more families -- the playgrounds.

"I've seen some even at Oak Mountain that look like they could be a shot from 'The Walking Dead,'" said Jennifer Gay, whose husband is a ranger at Cheaha State Park. "They're scary. We need to update them. We need to make sure they're ADA accessible," she said, referring to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Gay was one of about 15 people who came to Bald Rock Lodge Monday to hear Alabama State Parks Director Greg Lein talk about the finances and future plans of the park system in general and specifically Cheaha State Park.

The open house was one of a series held in the system's different parks as part of a commemoration of the system's 75th anniversary in 2014. It was also part of a process of information gathering in preparation for creating a five-year plan for the system, Lein said.

Gay, who grew up in Talladega near the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, said she was concerned that the park be accessible to everyone, even those with some sort of disability. She wanted to see the park facilities become handicapped accessible, she said.

Lein said that was a concern he hadn't heard before and would take into consideration as the system plans for the future.

The park system is user-funded, meaning that the user fees for camping, admissions and activities pay to operate the parks, Lein said. The parks also receive about $8 million in state funding from cigarette and use taxes for maintenance, Lein said. The park system has 22 parks and Cheaha is one of the 10 most visited, with 210,000 visits a year, Lein said. Even so, it fluctuates from being self-supporting and being in the red, he said.

In 2012, Cheaha took in $1.8 million in revenue and spent $1.9 million to operate. Two-thirds of the park's money came from lodging, cottages, cabins and campgrounds. Another 25 percent came from the park restaurant, Lein said.

One audience member said he'd called for reservations in the past and the cabins and chalets were all booked. He wanted to know if there were plans to add more cabins at Cheaha.

Lein said Cheaha has a high occupancy rate and the park system is looking at possibly putting in more cabins, he said. One option the system is exploring is partnering with Cleburne County to build those new cabins, Lein said. The addition of new cabins could make the park more profitable, he said.

In addition, the park system chose Cheaha as a site for a new adventure sport and that could also help it become consistently self-sustaining, Lein said. Later this spring, Georgia-based Screaming Eagle Adventures will open a zip line in Cheaha and in three other state parks, Lein said. He's hoping that will increase the number of paying visitors to the parks.

"Not only are we going to get a percentage of the revenue but the fact that that new attraction is here in this state park makes the campground more attractive, makes the cabins more attractive; it makes the lodge more attractive as a vacation destination," Lein said.

The park system has to look at how to attract the next generation to the parks and this is one way to do it, Lein said.

"We can't take the position we do nature, nothing else," he said.

That next generation is looking for wi-fi, technology and aerial adventures. Indeed one person in the audience wanted to know if the park could upgrade the cellular service on the mountain.

Lein replied that service quality is in the hands of the cellular providers.

While many of the people in attendance said they were pleased with the addition of the zip line, David Dostie of Choccolocco said he was concerned about how the zip lines would fit into the park.

"The zip lines, if they are integrated into a natural setting, they don't detract and they're somehow connected with nature and nature adventures, I think they're a great idea," Dostie said.

Tammy Power, superintendent of the park, said she saw the zip lines as a chance to teach.

"You'll have a chance to look at places you're never going to be able to look at," Power said. "You're going to be able to see new things. .... We're going to offer people of all ages a different view."

Staff Writer Laura Camper 256-463-2872 in Heflin, 256-235-3545 in Anniston. On Twitter @LCamper_Star.

Alabama State Parks:

$29.8 million in revenue in 2012, $28.9 million in expenditures.

Visitors: 4 million to 5 million a year

-50 percent from in-state and 50 percent from out of state

-22 percent overnight guests

-53 percent using a paid service such as golf or a pier

-25 percent using unpaid services

Cheaha State Park:

2012 Revenue $1.8 million

-27 percent from the lodge

-25 percent from the restaurant

-29 percent from cottages and cabins

-10 percent from the campgrounds

-4 percent from the gate

-5 percent other

2012 Expenditures $1.9 million

-54 percent salaries and benefits

-4 percent regular repairs and maintenance

-13 percent utilities

-8 percent supplies

-21 percent other

Visits: 210,000 per year, 8th highest in the park system

70 percent from Alabama, 30 percent from out of state

-- Source: Greg Lein, Alabama State Parks

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