Cox, King Clash:

Do Some Campers

Get Preferred Sites

And Better Deals?

By NELSON MORAIS

Staff Writer

A heated argument erupted Thursday at a meeting of the Greene County Commission's Budget & Finance Committee over long-term campsites at Kinser Park and whether -- or how much -- the county government should fund the park.

The county- and city-subsidized park received $30,000 in Greene County tax revenues in the current fiscal year.

The nonprofit Kinser Park Commission, which oversees the park, has requested the same amount for the 2008-09 fiscal tax year that begins July 1. The commission also received $30,000 from the City of Greeneville in the current ending fiscal year.

Cox Criticism

Committee member John Cox is a critic of tax subsidies for 130 quasi-permanent, or long-term "seasonal" campsites at Kinser Park that he said shortchanges only 15 short-term, "weekend" campsites.

Cox brought up discussion of Kinser Park late in the Budget & Finance Committee meeting when attention turned to county funding for nonprofit organizations, including the Kinser Park Commission.

"Over the years, we've allowed it (Kinser Park) to become a trailer park," Cox said.

He said he defined "a trailer park" as "a campground-like area that has permanent set-ups," as do the 130 seasonal campsites at Kinser Park, some which have been occupied by the same people for many years.

Cox said the 15 "weekend," or short-term campsites, had been relegated to "not in the best areas" of Kinser Park versus the more choice lots for seasonal campsites.

Overall, said Cox, "We've let the situation get out of hand."

Cox Wants Preconditions

Cox proposed the county only release $30,000 to the Kinser Park Commission after certain preconditions were met, including:

* Changing park policy so that when a seasonal camper decides to leave, they do not have the option to choose the buyer. He said instead it should be offered to the person at the top of a waiting list that the park maintains.

* Electrical meters for each "permanent," or seasonal, campsite.

* Increasing the number of weekend/short term sites so that there is at least one more weekend site available than the total of seasonal campsites, so that more people could camp at the park and at shorter intervals.

Currently, there are 145 total campsites. Of that total, 130 campsites are seasonal, and 15 are for weekend campers.

For example, Cox said, the number of weekend campsites could be increased from 15 to 73 by converting 58 of the seasonal campsites to weekend campsites. Or, he said, the 130 seasonal campsites could be kept, and additional weekend campsites built, for a total of 131 weekend sites.

Said Cox, "This park belongs to all the citizens of Greene County, and not only the 130 (families) taking advantage of it," he said in reference to the seasonal campsites.

* Start giving top priority for vacant seasonal campsites to Greene County residents over campers who live outside the county and state.

* Set a time limit of five years for the Kinser Park Commission to enact these changes.

"I'd say we keep the money ($30,000) in the budget, but (not release the funds) until these conditions are met," Cox said.

Greene County Mayor Alan Broyles noted that in addition to the $30,000 the county government allotted the park during the fiscal year that is concluding, the Greeneville government also gave $30,000, for a total of $60,000.

Cox: $60,000 In Subsidies

Said Cox, "That's $60,000 that local citizens are subsidizing" the park.

"The Kinser Park Commission has become part of the problem," Cox said. He added, "They cannot look objectively at the situation."

Committee member Phil King, his voice rising in objection to Cox, said he has been on the Kinser Park Commission "at least" 25 years, and never camped at Kinser Park, nor -- in response to Cox's question -- have any of his friends or family members.

Broyles said, "I think Mr. Cox has some very valuable points. However, it might be good if we appoint a committee to work with the Kinser Park Commission to try and work things out, then come back to the Budget & Finance Committee with an appropriation request."

Committee member Hilton Seay sided with Cox. He said, "These issues need resolution, adjustments" during the next fiscal year, and not be delayed longer than that.

Cox said, "Last year, we told them (the Kinser Park Commission) the same thing" and the commission did not move to resolve the issues that the Budget & Finance Committee raised.

'Zero-Out The Account'

He added, "We told them last year all this stuff, and I say zero out the account unless they fix these problems. The only way you're going to get their attention is not to give them money."

After asking Budget Director David Lawing for the calculation, Cox said, "Greene County has given them (the commission) $150,000 to $160,000 of (additional) free services a year by having" Greene County inmates clean up the park at no charge.

Cox also said the Solid Waste Department "picks up their trash for free."

Cox said seasonal campers, who are not metered, "use electricity out the wazoo."

King Defends Park

King objected strongly to Cox's remarks. His voice rising, he said of Cox's proposal, "You're going to destroy it (Kinser Park) ... You started a hot rally (by advocating changes with seasonal campsites), and you're causing problems for Kinser Park."

King said it was his understanding that "if it had not been for (the revenue from) regular (seasonal) campers, the park would have closed" for financial reasons.

Other proposals offered during the discussion on Kinser Park included possibly raising the seasonal campsite fee to be more in line with other similar campsite situations in the region, such as Cherokee Lake, where campers pay $1,700 -- or more -- a year, plus extra for electricity they use, according to Cox.

At Kinser Park, seasonal campers pay $750 a year to camp for 73 or 74 nights, according to Johnny Gregg, the park's manager. If they want to stay additional nights, they pay the same rate as short-term campers: $19 a night (for senior citizens), or $24 for everyone else, Gregg said in an interview this morning.

Solid Waste Dept. Budget

In other action, earlier in their meeting, the Budget & Finance Committee approved a motion to balance the Solid Waste Department's budget by increasing the amount of projected budgetary savings by approximately $89,000.

In another action, the committee voted to move 90 percent of $4,216 from the "temporary personnel" line item to the salary line item for a full-time dentist at the county's Health Department. The remaining 10 percent of the $4,216 will cover retirement costs for the position, budget director Lawing said.