Smokies proposes park-wide parking fee

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS EDITOR

Avisit to the nation’s most popular national park could cease being free if a groundbreaking proposal put forth by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last week is enacted.

The proposal seeks to institute a parkwide parking fee, and to increase existing fees for backcountry camping and frontcountry amenities. A public comment period is open through May 7 and a virtual public meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 14.

“Great Smoky Mountains National Park is at a crossroads,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “We’re proud to be the most visited National Park, but it does present challenges due to wear and tear on aging facilities and a strain on park resources and employees. Parking tag sales, at a modest fee, would provide critically needed support to protect and enhance the visitor experience not just for tomorrow, but for generations to come. We appreciate the public’s input throughout this process.”

Over the last decade, park visitation has increased by 57% to a record 14.1 million visits in 2021, even as federal appropriations have remained flat around $19 million — or, when adjusted for inflation, fallen. The park needs more money to protect its resources and serve the surging numbers of visitors.

But use fees are a fraught topic. The park was created by forcibly moving families out of the communities they’d built in places like Hazel Creek and Cataloochee, leaving behind homes, churches and cemeteries. When the Tennessee legislature approved the 1951 deed transfer that gave the federal government ownership of Little River Road and Newfound Gap Road, it was with the stipulation that the federal government could never charge a fee to use those roads. In 1992, Congress passed a law prohibiting entrance fees elsewhere in the park so long as no fees were charged for using its “main highways and thoroughfares.”

However, the park is allowed to charge fees for use of facilities, equipment and services — the proposed parking fee is categorized as an expanded amenity fee. The park does not wish to pursue charging an entrance fee.

The proposal would institute a daily parking fee of $5, with a seven-day tag available for $15 and an annual tag for $40. The park would remain free to enter — motorists using it as a scenic drive or commuter route would not be charged. Passholders would have to display the tag in their car while parking it in designated parking spots within park boundaries, but the tag would not guarantee a parking spot at any specific location, with parking continuing to be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Roadside parking would no longer be allowed.

Smokies staff determined the proposed rates by comparing prices for similar access on public and private lands. The average parking rate in gateway communities where parking fees are charged — the calculation does not account for communities like Cherokee, that don’t charge fees — is $15 per day and $68 per month. In National Park sites where parking fees are charged, the average rate is $9 per day and $50 per year.

People participating in decoration days and family reunions managed through the Special Use Permit system would be exempt from the parking tag requirement, and some fee-free days would be scheduled. This year, the National Park Service has designated five service-wide fee-free days, and as superintendent, Cash can designate some additional days limited to the Smokies.

In an interview, Cash said that based on last year’s data, the park could expect to generate $10-$14 million through the parking fee program, even assuming compliance of only 30% when the fee is initially enacted. Federal law allows parks like the Smokies that can’t charge an entrance fee due to deed restrictions to keep all revenue generated through other fees. Revenue would support repair, maintenance and enhancement of visitor facilities, as well as increased ranger presence and maintenance personnel across the park.

The proposal would also double backcountry camping fees — the fee was enormously contentious when first proposed in 2011 — raising them from $4 to $8 per night, with a maximum of $40 per camper. Backcountry fees support trip planning, seven-day-a-week backcountry office support and backcountry law enforcement patrol. The fee hasn’t increased since first enacted in 2013, while use of sites has increased to more than 100,000 camper nights per year.

Additionally, the proposal would standardize frontcountry fees across the park — campground operational costs are now similar across locations. The proposed fee for family campsites at all campgrounds would be $30 per night for primitive sites and $36 per night for electrical hookups. Formerly, rates varied across campgrounds from $17.50 to $25 per night. Fees applying to group camps, horse camps and picnic pavilions would increase by 20-30%, depending on size and location. Rates for daily rental of the Appalachian Clubhouse and Spence Cabin in Elkmont are proposed as a standard daily rate, resulting in an average increase of the weekly rate and decrease of the weekend rate.

The outcome of the proposal would be decided by Oct. 1 at the latest, Cash said, and implemented in March 2023.

Be heard

A virtual public meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 14, will take input on the proposal. The one-hour meeting will include an overview presentation and a question-andanswer session. To attend the meeting, log on at tinyurl.com/mttkdyxs or call in for listen-only mode at 929.436.2866, passcode 980 8025 4376#.

Written comments will be accepted through May 7. Comment online at parkplanning.nps.gov/GRSMfeeproposal2023 or mail hard copy comments to Superintendent Cassius Cash, Attn: 2023 Smokies Fee Program Changes Proposal, 107 Park Headquarters Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.

The rate change proposals are available at nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/2023-fee-proposal.htm.

Waynesville aldermen ponder projects

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS EDITOR

It’s a critical time in the Town of Waynesville. Legacy problems like aging sewer and water infrastructure and a malfunctioning downtown association are almost in the rearview mirror, as are the uncertainty and disruption of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Those issues, however, have been replaced by new ones, mainly fueled by public safety, development pressures and the need to remain a competitive, attractive tourism destination with reasonable property tax rates.

With a long list of projects and policies and unprecedented amounts of federal funding flowing into cities, aldermen have never had a better opportunity to shape the future of the town.

“Talking with the staff over the last year,” said Town Manager Rob Hites at a town retreat on April 6, “we realized over the last 4 or 5 years we have been asking you to be a reactive board.”

The board’s reactive posture ended that day, as Hites walked aldermen through a 5-hour meeting that instead of starting with a finance presentation focused on the personal priorities of elected officials first.

Mayor Gary Caldwell’s priorities — a trio of pavilions — will likely move forward, albeit slowly. Caldwell said that when the Main Street pavilion went out for bid, only one bidder responded with a price that gave the town “the shock of our life.”

The skate park pavilion, which would be the same as the one constructed at Obama-King Park for $40,000 a few years ago, will now cost $102,000. Now, the town has the choice to re-bid the project or wait for the construction price boom to possibly subside. Another Caldwell priority is to explore options for expanded outdoor dining on Main Street.

Alderman Julia Freeman’s main priority was purchasing a new SRT/rescue vehicle for the town’s police force.

“We need to be highly active and alert on using tactical things and making sure our law enforcement has the resources they need to get the job done,” Freeman said.

The current vehicle used for SRT operations is outdated, illequipped and undermatched, based on weapons seized during SRT activities.

“If someone shoots at that vehicle, it’s just going to go through,” said Assistant Chief Brandon Gilmore. A new vehicle would cost approximately $300,000, but refurbished vehicles are available for about half that.

With the impending retirement of Waynesville Parks and Recreation Director Rhett Langston, Freeman also wants to stay on top of the situation and complete a parks and rec master plan.

Alderman Jon Feichter, who’s been pushing a clean energy mentality among the board, wants to convert municipal buildings to solar heat and water, among other renewable energy initiatives.

“I’m pretty keen on how the town can fulfill its 2017 commitment to help the state transition to 100% clean energy by 2050,” he said.

The clean energy plan will be implemented in the design of the town’s forthcoming Hazelwood fire station, and Feichter wants the rec center to be prioritized as well due to its substantial consumption of power and water.

“You know the old saying, ‘When’s the best time to plant a tree?’ The best answer is 20 years ago. The second-best time is right now,” Feichter said. “Like I’ve said, let’s be bold.”

Feichter also proposes changes to how the town-owned electric service provider operates, including smart metering, budget billing and paperless billing.

Alderman Chuck Dickson said he’d like to contract with a grant writer to help leverage funds from the American Rescue Plan.

“This is a generational opportunity,” said Dickson. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Grant funding would have a substantial impact on the intergovernmental effort to bring badly needed affordable housing developments to the region, as well as advance the multi-jurisdictional greenway project.

Dickson also wants to revisit the idea of staggered terms for aldermen. Right now, Waynesville is the only municipal government in Haywood County that elects all five of its board positions during the same election. The town could change the structure of its board terms by ordinance, without General Assembly action.

Alderman Anthony Sutton, who ran on making law enforcement more efficient and accountable, wants WPD to implement some sort of web-based outlet for police statistics and records.

“We’ve been getting a lot of pushback about transparency with police statistics,” Sutton said.

Sutton also wants to develop and augment community watch programs.

Aldermen will return for another budget session in the coming weeks before deciding which projects are achievable and which are not.