Karen Chávez

kchavez@citizen-times.com

Passage of Gov. Pat McCrory's Connect NC Bond would work as a perfect birthday gift to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of North Carolina's park system, advocates say.

The General Assembly last September passed a $2 billion bond proposal, of which nearly $1.3 billion would go for construction on most University of North Carolina campuses and for all 58 community colleges. The bond also includes $75 million for state parks, including improvement and expansion projects at all five parks In Western North Carolina - Chimney Rock, Gorges, Grandfather Mountain, Lake James and Mount Mitchell.

The bond proposal will appear on the ballot for voters in the March 15 primary. If passed, bond projects will take advantage of historic low interest rates, leverage the state’s positive credit rating and bring no tax increase.

“There are 45 projects in all,” said Charlie Peek, spokesman for N.C. State Parks. “The last bond issued to state parks was in 1993 for $35 million. This will be for $75 million and will include projects in all 42 state parks and state natural areas, and even parts of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.”

Peek said the bond comes at an serendipitous time since the state park service is celebrating its centennial this year. Mount Mitchell, in Yancey County, which is home to the highest peak in the eastern United States was the first state park, established in 1916.

“The timing had more to do with the ability to borrow money at lower interest rates. But it’s coming at a good time for the state parks,” he said.

As the National Park Service is also celebrating its centennial this year, with parks such as Great Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Parkway, the state parks are facing many of the same issues – anything 100 years old needs TLC and constant upkeep. With budget constraints, that doesn’t always happen.

Lake James State Park in McDowell and Burke counties stand to benefit most among park projects included in the bond proposal. An estimated $3 million would pay for a visitor center.

It would be about time, said Superintendent Nora Coffey, since the lake, which had more than a half-million visitors last year and continues to grow, has never had a visitor center since it was established in 1987.

The park encompasses 3,644 acres on the lake's north and south shores and offers a beach for swimming, paddling and fishing, along with miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, picnic areas, boat-in-only campsites and weekly ranger-led nature programs.

The park recorded 504,660 visitors in 2015, making it the most visited state park in Western North Carolina. It has two separate areas – the older Catawaba River area and the newer Paddy’s Creek area, where the swim beach and boat rentals are located.

NC state parks hit record attendance

“At the Catawba River section, we only have a small office space with a really small entrance. At Paddy’s Creek, we put in interim office space because our master plan called for a visitor center,” Superintendent Nora Coffey said.

“Our future visitor center will be able to house all of our staff - we have 10 full time employees - and more exhibit space, multipurpose rooms and a larger retail space. People really want things that say ‘Lake James,’ like mugs, T-shirts, hats and water bottles. We also sell books, field guides, hiking medallions and bandanas. It’s in a very cramped space now.”

Not having a visitor center, and having such a sprawling park with multiple entry points and many activities, can leave visitors wanting a park “jumping off point.”

“We get a lot of visitors from Asheville, Charlotte and Hickory, which is really flattering to us because Lake Norman is right there. I think our beautiful mountain views are responsible for that,” Coffey said.

“It’s good to have a central hub. Folks want to go to one location for information, buy their goods and see a ranger. They expect a one-stop-shop and then go out to find what they’re looking for. Having us all out of one central location will increase our ability to provide better customer service.”

One of the most exciting parts of having a visitor center, Coffey said, is more indoor and outdoor classroom space.

Nearly 3,000 children attended programs at the park last year, the vast majority with school or other civic groups.

“Our overall program attendance (all ages) was over 5,000 last year. In 2014, the total number of kids was around 1,400 and in 2013 it was just over 800. So, the number has been about doubling every year for the last several years.”

The state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund paid for about $1.8 million for drive-in tent campground at Paddy’s Creek, expected to open this spring with 33 tent sites as the park's most recent capital improvement project.

The initial Paddy’s Creek Development, which opened in 2010, cost $7.4 million. That included roads, Paddy’s Creek Bridge, a maintenance area, bathhouse, beach, law enforcement boat dock and the two picnic shelters, Coffey said.

The park is seeking funding for the design phase of the visitor center, which should cost $4 million, she said. The Connect NC Bond would fund $3 million, and the park would work with Friends of Lake James State Park to make up the other $1 million.

Other parks seek to offer more visitor amenities

Gorges State Park in Transylvania County - known for its waterfalls and rugged river gorge rising 2,000 feet in four miles - would get $2.5 million under the bond proposal.

The money would pay for 50 drive-to family campground sites with a bathhouse. Half of the parks campsites will be RV-friendly.

“I think, if we’re careful and we get a good contractor, we could build it for $2.5 million,” Gorges superintendent Steve Pagano said. “Now, we just have 14 backcountry sites where you have to backpack in. We are going to put in some new trails this May, and they will have more backpack sites.”

The park was established in 1999 and got a visitor center built in 2012. It had a 48 percent increase in visitation in 2015 over the previous year, the highest jump of any state park.

“We really need a tent site campground. We get a lot of requests for it. There’s not a lot camping in our neck of the woods. We end up sending people to Devils Fork or Caesars Head (state parks) in South Carolina. We’d rather keep them here in Transyvlania County.”

The park’s last major capital improvement was the visitor center, picnic areas and maintenance area in 2012, which were budgeted at $6.4 million. Pagano said the project was finished under budget.

A bond issue also would pay for improvements at Yellow Mountain State Natural Area, with costs estimated at $2.25 million.

The Yellow Mountains State Natural Area is a 3,468-acre area in the high elevation Roan Highlands of Mitchell and Avery counties. Park officials want to buy more land. Yellow Mountain and other state natural areas have no infrastructure and are managed by nearby parks.

“We have a wish list and an idea of what property owners might be willing to sell. This is an area of high elevation, grassy balds, spectacular from scenic point of view,” he said.

The state works with land trusts, such as the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, who identify land suitable for conservation and work with landowners to sell or place conservation easements to permanently protect it from development.

“It could conceivably become a park, but the real driving force is for conservation – we want to protect it,” Peek said. “It can develop public facilities, such as trails and picnic areas, without becoming a park.”

The Connect NC bond allows the state to pay over 20 to 25 years for assets that expected to last 50 years or more.

Following are highlights of work that would be paid for through a bond issue.

1. Chimney Rock State Park, Rutherford County – $1.5 million

Expansion to bring more land into conservation.

Expansion of and renovations to trails.

Added recreational opportunities.

Improvements to Rumbling Bald, a popular climbing area, and World's Edge, a remote area on the south side of Hickory Nut Gorge with no suitable public access.

2. Gorges State Park, Transylvania County – $2.5 million

50 drive-to family campground sites with a bathhouse. Half of the park's campsites would be RV-friendly.

3. Grandfather Mountain State Park, Avery County – $1.5 million

Trailhead with ranger contact station, maintenance area, paved entry and parking for 125 vehicles near the Profile Trail.

Improvements to integrate the area into the park’s network of backcountry trails and campsites.

4, Lake James State Park, Burke County – $3.02 million

Visitor center to serve as a park gateway and feature educational exhibits along with space for community meetings and gatherings.

5. Yellow Mountain State Natural Area, Mitchell and Avery Counties - $2.25 million

More land at Mayo River, Mount Jefferson, Yellow Mountain and other state parks to protect fragile and unique ecosystems, water quality, and scenic beauty, as well as to improve recreational access and opportunities.

6. Mount Mitchell State Park, Yancey County – $600,000