DATE: 5-24-05

TO: All Members of the Alabama Legislature

CC: Mayor and City Council, Gulf Shores

Mayor and City Council, Orange Beach

FROM Senator Hinton Mitchem

RE: Gulf State Park Update

As Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on State Parks, I want to provide you with information to update you on the progress of Gulf State Park. As you know, Hurricane Ivan wreaked millions of dollars worth of damage in September of last year on our Gulf Coast, including the Gulf State Park. State officials have been working with the insurance company to reach a settlement on damages. Work has been going on for some months now and progress is taking shape.

The Department of Conservation and Auburn University propose building a family-friendly hotel and conference center at Gulf State Park. I urge your full support for this progressive plan for several reasons. First, it will be one of the best things to ever happen to the Gulf Shores area that was hit hard by Hurricane Ivan. Second, it will be the financial salvation of the entire State Parks system that depends on revenues from Gulf State Park.

Consider the potential revenues if Alabama develops a convention destination on its Gulf Coast. Alabama currently loses untold millions of convention dollars annually due to lack of convention space on the coast. The 350-room hotel and the conference center will provide…

· Meeting space for up to 2,000 people.

· $65 million a year into the Gulf Shores area economy.

· Nearly $3 million each year in total tax collections for schools, roads and other vital services without raising taxes.

· 1,600 new jobs on the Gulf coast, over 400 of which will be employed by the hotel and conference center.

Alabama can finally have its own beach destination that attracts families and conventions and reduces the loss of tourism dollars to neighboring states. Other hotels in Gulf Shores will benefit from convention overflow business.

The City of Auburn has a successful academic-business partnership through its Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center, where students gain hands-on education in all aspects of the hospitality industries. The Gulf State Park initiative will expand this academic program.

Some individuals have expressed concerns that the planned hotel will be too expensive for everyday citizens and a bad use of park land. Here are the facts:

· The proposed hotel will have competitive rates. No hotel can afford to price itself too high, otherwise rooms stay empty.

· Profits from the Gulf State Park Lodge are imperative. We must ensure the new facility is profitable, because a portion of its receipts is what supports the other 21 parks in the Alabama State Parks system.

· Privatization of the land will not occur. The Department of Conservation will still own the land, which is deeded to the state of Alabama and not the State Parks division. The Department of Conservation will lease the land to Auburn University, which will select a developer to build the facility. That part of the development will not use proceeds of a bond issue. Attorney General Troy King ruled that the arrangement is constitutional and complies with state law. Governor Riley endorses it as well.

· The hotel and conference center will be larger than the old 144-room facility destroyed by Hurricane Ivan, yet will occupy a smaller footprint. The result is more public access to beautiful, clean beaches with less environmental intrusion.

Gulf State Park is a 6,158-acre oasis with over three miles of beachfront for everyone to enjoy. By the end of this year, it will offer 496 campsites at prices ranging from $23 to $30. By January of 2006, 30 cabins will be available for rent as well as a 10,000 square-foot beach pavilion with multipurpose educational and special events areas.

Hurricane Ivan did tens of millions of dollars of damage to Gulf State Park and millions more in damages to local businesses. The new Gulf State Park hotel and conference center will give Gulf Shores an economic shot in the arm. These improvements will help Gulf Shores come back better than ever and will be a huge benefit to our entire state.

Ladies and gentlemen, Alabama is at the proverbial fork in the road. We must choose the high road or the low road. If we choose the high road, it will lead us through new territory - to build an attractive 350-room beach destination hotel and conference center that spurs the economy and subsidizes the other 21 state parks. If we choose the low road, it will lead us down an old familiar path aimed at “getting by” rather than “getting ahead”. It is fiscally irresponsible to build an inadequate hotel at Gulf State Park and allow the entire state parks system to collapse due to inadequate revenues. If we take the wrong road, there is no turning back. We must take the high road.

The Department of Conservation must be good stewards of all 22 parks in the Alabama State Parks system. The future of the entire State Parks system depends on the financial success of Gulf State Park. Therefore, please give your full support for the construction of a new 350-room hotel and conference center at Gulf State Park.