Could State Cuts Make Hammonasset A Burden For Madison?

MADISON, CT - Madison State Representative Noreen Kokoruda thinks its great news that the state's largest park - Hammonasset - will likely see much bigger crowds this coming summer due to the fact that Connecticut residents will no longer have to pay to get in.

But, she is also concerned that with those bigger crowds brings more responsibility on the town's personnel to police and clean up the park - and - at a time when Gov. Dannel Malloy is proposing to cut back its state funding to Madison by two-thirds, or close to $1 million.

Kokoruda, a member of the General Assembly's Appropriations Committee, expressed those concerns to Office of Police Management Secretary Ben Barnes last Friday, when Barnes was explaining the governor's 2019 budget plan to the committee.

Kokoruda told Barnes that Hammonasset is the "largest state park in the state" and she wasn't sure if state officials understood how much of a burden taking care of the park and what the thousands upon thousands of visitors leave behind means to police and other departments in the town of Madison.

And those Madison employees, the state representative told Barnes, are paid by Madison taxpayers not the state.

Under Malloy's 2018 budget, Madison would receive a 67 percent cut in its state funding from the previously approved $1.34 million total - to $448,000. And that's after having its state funding allocation already cut significantly over the past few years.

Under the state's Passport to Parks program, a new system that supports services at the state parks system while allowing Connecticut residents who have valid state license plates to access all state parks for free, effective immediately.

Created by the bipartisan state budget that was adopted late last year, Passport to Parks is supported through a $10 fee that is being applied through the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to non-commercial vehicles that have new registrations, renewals, and plate transfers registered. These include passenger cars and vehicles with combination plates, as well as motorcycles, campers/motor homes, and vehicles with antique car plates.

Funds generated through this system will provide the Connecticut State Park system – a division of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) – with greater financial support, allowing a number of services at the parks that had been previously reduced to be restored, such as the reopening of several closed campgrounds, increased staffing of state beaches during the summer, and the restoration of regular hours of operation at certain nature centers and museums.

Out-of-state vehicles will still be charged parking fees ranging from $7 to $22 depending on the park and time of day. Fees to reserve overnight campgrounds for both in-state and out-of-state visitors will still apply.

Barnes tried to reassure Kokoruda that the job of policing and cleaning up the park won't fall entirely on the town of Madison.

He said part of the Passports to Parks program funds will be used to hire seasonal workers, many of whom lost their jobs the past few years due to layoffs, to bring the park system back up to sufficient staffing levels.

He said some of those workers would be for security and some would be for other purposes.