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Appropriations committee presses parks on $27.9M carryover, proposes July 2026 start for two campground staff
Summary
The Appropriations — Education and Environment Division reviewed North Dakota Parks and Recreation’s deferred-maintenance spending and discussed delaying two new park positions to July 2026; department staff said $27.9 million had been appropriated previously and that ARPA dollars must be spent this year.
The Appropriations — Education and Environment Division met to review the state park budget and deferred-maintenance spending, hearing from North Dakota Parks and Recreation Director Cody Schulz about prior appropriations and project timing.
Schulz told the committee that “in the special session in 2021 and the regular session of last year, a total of $27,900,000 was appropriated to us specifically for deferred maintenance and capital projects.” He said the funding came in two tranches, including $17.9 million in ARPA dollars and $10 million sourced from SIF funds.
Committee members focused on execution and timing. Senator Thomas asked the panel to consider starting two full-time positions for the Pembina Gorge Campground and the Roughrider Campground (formerly Salt Sully Creek) in July 2026 rather than at the start of the next biennium; he told the committee those positions were necessary because “it seems kinda silly that we would do that and not have staff there.”
Schulz said the department has used a “first in, first out” approach to spending: execute projects funded by ARPA first because of federal deadlines, then move to SIF funds. He described the department’s backlog and project-phasing breakdown, saying an analysis from 2021 put deferred maintenance at about $74 million. Schulz provided a phase summary the department had prepared: roughly $975,000 in planning, about $3.1 million in engineering, and about $400,000 tied to environmental and historical-preservation work.
“We know that we will be able to execute much faster,” Schulz said, noting that many of the contracts for the next tranche of work were already in place and expected to be executed this summer. He added that parks often schedule work in spring and fall rather than peak summer months to avoid disrupting visitors.
Committee members also questioned one-time technology and facility requests. Thomas noted the House recommendation trimmed a combined state-park technology line to $2.5 million from an executive proposal of roughly $3.5 million; Schulz said the estimate came from NDIT and that the funding would be for park buildings and facilities rather than customer Wi-Fi.
The committee did not take final action on the park budget at the meeting and agreed to revisit the division’s budgets next week.
Ending
The Appropriations — Education and Environment Division paused further action on the parks budget and scheduled additional review; members said they would continue to examine carryover balances and the timing of construction and staffing requests before making final recommendations.
