---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <bcchamber@xxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2020 at 9:15 AM
Subject: ** About OUR Breaks Interstate Park, please read
To: <bcchamber@xxxxxxx>
FYI…
Folks,
I am sending this to you because of our partnerships with each of you for
marketing or programming offerings. The Breaks Interstate Park has been
significantly impacted by issues related to COVID-19, as I am sure that
many of you have been. I have watched $142,000 disappear from our checking
account in a matter of two weeks, due to cancellations of reservations,
events, and conferences as well as the mandatory closure of dining and
adventure tourism offerings. Many of you may know that the park receives
one-third of the funding of a typical state park and that 85% of our budget
comes from visitor spending. While our primary mission is to preserve the
Russell Fork Gorge and the 5,000 beautiful acres surrounding it, we have to
generate the funding to do so by offering lodging, dining, and program
services. In doing so, we typically provide over 125 jobs each season and
over $2 million in direct impact to our local communities. When the VA Dept
of Conservation and Recreation and the KY Dept. of Parks began shutting
down facilities for public safety, we had no choice but to follow suit, and
while it was the right thing to do for our communities, our finances have
been gravely impacted. 50% of our revenue comes from overnight lodging, 15%
comes from state appropriations, and the remaining 35% comes from a
combination of gate fees, adventure programs, waterpark admissions, and
food service.
In order to avoid running out of money, I have had to take immediate action
to furlough all but 5 of our existing staff and we are operating the park
as day-use until at least April 30th. This means that all facilities
(picnic shelters, restaurant, buildings, restrooms, campground, overnight
lodging) and all programs (elk tours, zipline tours, mountain bike rentals,
etc) have been shut down at the direction of the VA Dept of Conservation
and Recreation. We do feel that the natural areas of the park are going to
be vitally needed for the mental health of our citizens over the next few
weeks and we are endeavoring to keep these areas open to serve our
communities. I am in the process of deciding which facilities I will be
able to open this season, as I must ensure that we build up our financial
reserves before this winter so that we do not risk running out of cash.
During a normal season, profitable facilities subsidize unprofitable ones
and profitable periods of the year subsidize unprofitable periods, but we
keep them all open as a public service. We are starting so deeply in the
hole this year, that this equation will be completely altered, so I really
just wanted to provide you with this information so you will understand
when you see us have to make tough decisions about not opening certain
facilities, such as the waterpark, and providing limited hours on others,
such as the restaurant. The Breaks is truly an outlier with regard to the
way we are funded as compared to other state and federal parks, but we have
always been able to make it work, until now. I hope each of you stays safe
and well over the course of the next few months. I am confident that we
will get through this together, but thought it was important for you to
understand where we are at this point.
Respectfully,
Austin Bradley, MBA
Superintendent
Breaks Interstate Park
276-210-4655
