All day long Friday RV’s rolled into the campground at Hammonasset Beach State Park for the start of the busy Memorial Day weekend.
State campgrounds are opening a week later than normal because of budget cuts. State lawmakers are proposing a new way to generate more money to keep state parks open and in good condition.
"It’s always great to come back to Hammonasset," said Christine Koster, who is spending the holiday weekend with her husband in their RV.
Koster is the president of the 300 member organization called Friends of Hammonasset. She wants state lawmakers to pass a bill that would tack on a ten dollar fee on two year vehicle registrations in exchange for free access to state parks and beaches.
"The way this bill is going to be written, is that all of the money will go back into the state parks," she said. "Every $10 that everyone pays every two years is money that is going to come back into the state parks."
Park visitors could save money if the proposal passes, Koster said.
"So instead if you’re a day use person at Hammonasset instead of paying $13 to park you would just drive through the gate and get in for free," she explained. "And you can do that multiple times, as many times in any state park that you want."
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At the Rocky Neck State Park campground, longtime camper Bill Stamper said his family members made their reservations almost a year ago.
"Eleven months out you have to book it," Stamper said. "And if you don’t book it, you ain’t getting it."
Stamper said he isn’t completely sold on the idea of paying more for vehicle registration in exchange for unlimited access to state parks.
"I guess it would be OK," he said. "Another ten dollars, it’s getting bad where they’re just taxing us out of here."
Christine Monroe fro Montville is spending her weekend at the Hammonasset campground.
"My aunt actually made it for us and it was probably three months ago," she said.
Monroe said she supports paying ten dollars more on vehicle registration to keep the parks in good condition.
"Absolutely," she said. "It’s totally worth it. All the lawns are maintained, and the park is really clean, and it’s important to come to a park where it’s clean, especially with young children."
Four state park campgrounds are not opening this weekend because of budget cuts: Devils Hopyard State Park in East Haddam, Green Falls in Voluntown, Macedonia Brook State Park in Kent and Salt Rock State Park in Baltic.
The Department of Environmental Protection, which runs the parks, is bracing for another budget cut of up to $6.5 million for the next fiscal year starting on July 1. It is too early to tell how exactly that will affect this 2017 camping season.
Budget cuts for the current fiscal year resulted in 30 fewer seasonal hires at state parks.
