Payson Roundup

Pete Aleshire/Roundup

Snip and hammer: Volunteer Marge Sullivan, of Payson, is one of about a dozen people who have spent a couple of days a week maintaining Tonto Natural Bridge State Park right through its financial crisis.

Pete Aleshire/Roundup

Meanwhile, workers from BMJS Contracting, from Happy Jack, have been taking advantage of the weekday closure to repair the historic lodge.

They should turn it into a soap opera: Days of our Bridge.

Alas, Tonto Natural Bridge State Park has mixed good news with budget melodrama for months now, with no end to the perils in sight.

First it closes — amid much hand wringing and tears. Then it’s falling apart.

Then the builders come (with low bids).

Then it’s open (sort of). Then the volunteers ride to the rescue. Then it’s about to close (again). Then it’s saved (again).

Now it’s open (weekends) — and business is booming. Happy ending?

Wait: It could close again if state parks run entirely out of money sometime in August.

Fortunately, despite remaining closed five days a week this season — the park’s actually making more money than ever, due to lower operating costs and higher revenues.

The world’s largest travertine arch has been mostly shut down for the past three months — opening only on weekends, thanks to contributions from Payson, the hard work of a score of volunteers and a two-day-a-week reprieve voted by the state parks board.

On the other hand, the ongoing budget standoff could force all the state parks to shut down in the next 60 days or so, thanks to a $6.6-million cut in the overall parks budget imposed when Gov. Jane Brewer line-item vetoed key elements of the Republican legislature’s spending plan.

That latest cut comes on top of some $50 million in cuts during the past two years.

Payson Mayor Kenny Evans said the town is negotiating with the state to put in place an agreement that would let the town take over the operation of the park in the event of a state park shutdown.

Fortunately, the open-again-closed-again anti-marketing campaign hasn’t discouraged visitors.

Better yet, construction crews expect to complete repair of the roof and the structure of the aging building by September. Crews have already installed a long, metal support beam on the ground floor, which could mean the building might eventually again accommodate guests.

Construction crews will replace the deteriorating asphalt roof tiles with new, metal roof tiles that closely resemble the original, 1927 metal roof tiles.

The park’s future remains murky due to the latest hit to the state park’s budget. After two years of breaking open all their piggy banks, parks officials say they will run out of money to run the system sometime in August, if the governor and the legislature don’t strike a new budget deal. As a result of all the fund sweeps, park visitors and grant givers now actually subsidize the state budget.

Ironically, Tonto Natural Bridge has become a money maker, especially while running with a skeleton staff.

In June, visitation dropped 29 percent while the hours of operation dropped more than 70 percent. On the other hand, revenues have actually increased, thanks to a $1-per-person increase in the $4 admission fee.

For instance, last weekend the park got about 1,000 people daily, which would have made a good day on even a holiday weekend last year, said Brandon Baeuerlen, a ranger at the park.

In June, the park had 8,587 visitors when open just on weekends — down about 2,500 from last year, when the park remained open seven days a week.

The trend has continued in July, with a small drop in visitation over the July 4 weekend, but a roughly 30-percent increase this past weekend.

In another bit of good news, construction crews working to upgrade the structural supports and fix a leaky roof have not yet found any major, unanticipated structural problems.

The deteriorating asphalt shingles on the roof of the historic, 1927, 10-room lodge had been leaking for years, forcing park rangers to spread buckets throughout the once-popular lodge to catch the drips.

The state parks system had effectively hoarded its maintenance money until the legislature started emptying out all their savings accounts. That prompted the parks board to authorize the repair of the roof, for fear the legislature would find the stashed maintenance money and take it.

The state parks board originally voted to shut down Tonto Natural Bridge, even though its 93,000 visitors annually made it self-supporting. Parks administrators offered shifting reasons for the closure — partly to let construction crews have room to operate, and partly to move park staff to other parks after budget cuts created a severe manpower shortage.

Advocates for the bridge protested vehemently, and the Town of Payson agreed to pay up to $5,000 for the salaries of park rangers to keep it open on weekends.

The crisis has helped foster a new relationship between the parks system and Payson. Moreover, volunteers — mostly from Rim communities — have stepped in to keep the park open and maintained.

Volunteers show up every weekend to greet visitors, keep track of the facilities and explain park features to 1,000 visitors per day on the weekend.

On Monday, when the park is closed, the volunteers show up to trim the rose and blackberry bushes, mow the lawn, water the flowers, work on the trails and keep up on the maintenance of the extensive grounds. Many of the volunteers spend 10 or more hours per week at the park.

“The volunteers have really stepped up,” said Head Ranger John Boeck, “that’s been even more evident” with all the budget problems. “They just really want to keep the park open.”