06-17-2020, 12:00 AM
I finally got a reply from one of the members on that committee where they were talking about increasing the cost of the state parks pass and entrance fees, here is what he said:
We have been in discussion over the last few years on the annual pass. It has been over 20 years since we have changed anything with the cost of an annual pass. A few months ago we met as a leadership team and again discussed the value of an annual pass. As you can imagine this is a difficult topic. Utah State Parks has always tried to be the best value out there. We have always held our camping, rental and use fees below the private market. We still are the best value! We realized that even though we have held out this long the inevitable is that the price will need to be increased if we continue to have an annual pass. At the end of the day we did not make any final decisions on when the cost of the annual pass would go up. So I don't have a date of when it may go into effect. One thing is certain over time the dollar decreases in value and the cost of goods and services will go up. If I look back 20 years ago my fishing budget was quite different than it is today. All the lures I used to pay a dollar for are now 5 to 6 dollars.It's a reality we face. We also talked about the seniors and how valuable they are to our parks system. We feel that there should be a continued discount at our gates. I foresee that we will continue to look for ways to keep parks affordable to those who have a fixed income. I don't have a number but the leadership of state parks recognizes the need. I know that seems a bit fuzzy and for that I apologize. We have always tried to do what makes the most sense for our customers. I'm sure you have seen all the improvements that we have been able to make in our parks. This is all because of the support we have from those that appreciate the value of our parks. We certainly recognize that and hope that in the end you are able to understand why we have to make changes. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help out. Thanks for representing the fishing community!
Wayne
We have been in discussion over the last few years on the annual pass. It has been over 20 years since we have changed anything with the cost of an annual pass. A few months ago we met as a leadership team and again discussed the value of an annual pass. As you can imagine this is a difficult topic. Utah State Parks has always tried to be the best value out there. We have always held our camping, rental and use fees below the private market. We still are the best value! We realized that even though we have held out this long the inevitable is that the price will need to be increased if we continue to have an annual pass. At the end of the day we did not make any final decisions on when the cost of the annual pass would go up. So I don't have a date of when it may go into effect. One thing is certain over time the dollar decreases in value and the cost of goods and services will go up. If I look back 20 years ago my fishing budget was quite different than it is today. All the lures I used to pay a dollar for are now 5 to 6 dollars.It's a reality we face. We also talked about the seniors and how valuable they are to our parks system. We feel that there should be a continued discount at our gates. I foresee that we will continue to look for ways to keep parks affordable to those who have a fixed income. I don't have a number but the leadership of state parks recognizes the need. I know that seems a bit fuzzy and for that I apologize. We have always tried to do what makes the most sense for our customers. I'm sure you have seen all the improvements that we have been able to make in our parks. This is all because of the support we have from those that appreciate the value of our parks. We certainly recognize that and hope that in the end you are able to understand why we have to make changes. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help out. Thanks for representing the fishing community!
Wayne