Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Parks Lease topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears bill to extend St. Edward State Park lease from 62 to 80 years
Summary
A Capital Budget Committee hearing on substitute House Bill 1024 considered raising the maximum lease length for the main seminary building and associated structures at St. Edward State Park from 62 to 80 years; proponents said the change would align the park's lease term with other state parks and support private investment.
Representative Shelly Kloba, the bill’s prime sponsor, told the Capital Budget Committee that St. Edward State Park ‘‘is a jewel in my district,’’ and said substitute House Bill 1024 would give the lodge the ‘‘same lease length opportunity as all of the other state park properties.”
The committee heard a staff briefing from John Wilson, who said the bill would increase the maximum lease term for St. Edward State Park from 62 years to 80 years and that the general lease term limit for other state parks had been increased from 50 to 80 years in 2020. The substitute limits lease-eligible locations at St. Edward’s to the main seminary building, the pool building, the gymnasium, adjacent parking lots, and associated nearby property, rather than expanding eligible locations as the original bill would have done.
Brian Considine, legislative director for State Parks, testified in support and said the substitute ‘‘aligns lease terms with pretty much where we’re able to do everywhere else’’ and that aligning the statutory sections should help continue private investment in the park. Nigel Herbig, mayor of Kenmore, and James Daniels — speaking on behalf of his parents and their redevelopment work at the lodge — also testified in support, citing local economic benefits and proposed investments such as a Nordic-style spa.
Wilson noted a fiscal note in the bill packet: State Parks estimated staff time and an updated market appraisal would cost between $15,000 and $20,000; the staff briefing described that amount as the primary near-term fiscal effect and said a longer lease could plausibly change future lease revenue. No formal committee action or vote occurred at the hearing; the committee closed the public testimony after proponents finished.
The hearing record shows proponents emphasizing economic development and preservation tied to adaptive reuse of the seminary complex. The substitute narrows the list of leasable facilities to those currently identified in law while increasing the maximum lease term to bring St. Edward’s into parity with other park properties.
