Gov. Corbett thinks Pennsylvania's 117 state parks might be ripe for privatizing.
With a new gubernatorial commission, this one to study privatization, in the works, Corbett was asked today what, besides the liquor control board, might benefit from private sector control and he replied, "prison health care and running state parks."
Corbett - a former lifeguard - said the lack of lifeguards at beaches and park pools inspired that idea.
"There are some places where we don't have any lifeguards in our state parks," Corbett speaking to reporters after a bill signing event in Hershey.
"If we privatize that [parks] can we save a little money and have the lifeguards back?" Corbett asked. "Having been a lifeguard, I would like to see the lifeguards there, at least during the summer season."
The full privatization idea didn't sit so well with the Sierra Club of Pennsylvania.
"Certain aspects of the parks might lend themselves to private control, but operations of the state parks?" said the club's state executive director Jeff Schmidt. "We'd want to know more about it, but it doesn't sound good."
Of course, there's the sticky issue of fees that would likely crop up. What private operator would not want to maximize revenue by charging an admission fee, a hot potato issue in the state legislature if ever there was one.
Past proposals to charge fees at state parks have been shot down like sporting clays by the state legislature.
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources spokeswoman Christine Novak said there are lifeguards at all pools and at Presque Isle State Park in Erie and Fuller Lake at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Adams County. Since 2008 there have been no lifeguards at other park swimming facilities.
Novak said there are private contracts for certain operations in some parks such as concessions and marinas.
The governor is scheduled to hit the road for a tour of state parks later this month with DCNR Secretary Richard Allen.
Corbett also today ruled out privatization of the PA Turnpike - an idea that died a slow death during the Rendell administration.
Corbett - flanked by former Gov. George Leader at an assisted living facility owned by Leader and his family - signed a bill extending a moratorium on eligibiilty for PACE and PACENET, the state's prescription drug program for senior citizens. Some 30,000 would be made ineligible for the program if the state factored in Social Security cost-of-living adjustments.
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You have got to be kidding me. The state parks are the great equalizer. Rich and poor can enjoy and benefit from the natural beauty of our state. Please, no!— DoctorS- Hey, Corbett, forget about this park nonsense...get your tail in gear privatizing those state stores....now, start fracking away and privatizing those booze joints, ya' hear???— kelprod2
- Corbett cannot possibly be this clueless. How is anyone going to make money running public parks other than by charging for access? The only way they'll save money is by (a) spending less maintaining the parks and (b) paying employees less. How is shorting maintenance and destroying jobs going to make things better in Pennsylvania? I don't see paying money to visit run down parks staffed by teenagers making minimum wage so that some investment banker and a couple of lawyers can make money off the transaction. Then in 15 years, we'll decide that it was all a mistake, and the tax payers will shell out to the same folks to terminate the contracts. Yippee. Some things are just done better by government. That's why they are done by government.— chuck.goodwin
- Do not forget charging the school groups for access. Privatization is always a scam, it takes public resources and turn them over private group which bleeds them dry and complains to government that they still need government support to keep things going and instead of getting the job done at cost we get cost plus overhead plus profit. — DavidAG
Comment removed.- I second that motion. That way, when some of our State Parks get sold off to the Marcellus Shale industry (which is, of course, the intention)and our state becomes a wasteland I, thankfully, will be able to get drunk more cheaply and more convenienty. I'm all for it. As long as the pockets of politicians are going to be lined, I may as well get a small kickback in the cost of my booze. Yo, Corbett, do away with those primitive beer laws while you're at it!— Pat Riot
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- The governor has been attending too many Tea Parties, and you can see from today's stock market crash what people think of ideas originating there. Cutting the cost of government by such absurd means he's flat out of viable ideas. The governor should be thinking hard about putting people back to work, not about taking away their few pleasures that remain. Do something creative, not destructive.— creader
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- The first thing we to know how much does it cost in terms of employee costs under the current situation versus the revenue and services received from privatizing. If we can do it less expensive and actually expand the services offered I can understand the Governor's point. The only possible draw back would be nonimal fees which only be for the people who happened to use the parks. As long as the fees are reasonable I don't see the problem. The State can't afford to offer everything for free and we the taxpayers have to pay that people should have to pay to use because nothng is free. Moreover, there is little appetite for paying for more public service employees (and their pensions) when they actually provide very limited services.— Speak-truth-2-power
- Here's a thought how about privatizing the entire state government. After all the governor has already been bought and paid for by the gas industry.— mindstorms
- That is the frist step in selling the land off to build houses— october9
- SDP_staff: Pot must be rotting your brain. Explain exactly why pothead losers are going to be lining up a the liquor stores to buy overpriced, heavily taxed pot, when they can continue to get it cheaper from their dealers, like they do now. Even pothead idiots don't like to overpay for their merchandise.— ArchimedesJackson
- How about privatizing the governor ? Regular payments can mean trouble for politicians. Why not sell the whole enterprise ?— Peter of Manassas
- ArchimedesJackson: Weed costs $400/oz now because it's illegal and growers/dealers want to be paid for their risk. Legalize it and I'll sell it wholesale for $3.99 a pound. Tax it at $100 per pound. There are 12.5 million people in PA. Let's say 1/4 smoke a joint (1g) once a week. Not a huge amount, but it would generate about $40 million in tax revenue via just that one stream. (ps use this comment as an example of how not to waste time and space with pointlessness)— maldorer
