HARLINGEN — Cameron County officials, stung by the possibility of losing revenues from the popular Adolph Thomae Jr. County Park, say statements by federal officials that the county is jeopardizing its lease deal are “surprising and concerning.”
The statement issued Friday by Joe E. Vega, county parks director, was a response to comments made by Boyd Blihovde, refuge manager at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge where the park is located.
In a story in the Valley Morning Star on Oct. 11, Blihovde said the county had failed to live up to its part of its long-term lease deal to operate the park. Blihovde said the county has not provided adequate law enforcement at the 58-acre park near Arroyo City.
“As an avid outdoorsman, I am extremely proud of the countless improvements at this park,” said County Commissioner David A. Garza in the statement. “I have heard nothing but positive and great comments from the public regarding this county park.”
The park attracts some 300,000 visitors a year, and 70 percent of those people are either using the two boat ramps for access to fish in the Laguna Madre, or fishing from the banks or piers at the park.
The county is in the process of investing about $750,000 in building a second boat ramp and adding parking. Most of that money, about $590,000, comes from grants.
“I am looking forward to the finished product and completion of this project the first quarter of 2017 so that we can keep Cameron County moving forward in a positive direction,” Garza added.
But federal officials say the new 50-year lease deal with the county could be jeopardized if county officials don’t improve policing at the park. Although the park closes at 10 p.m., a number of campers purchase permits for overnight stays, making the park a 24-hour operation when it comes to security.
Either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has oversight over national wildlife refuges, or the county can back out of the lease deal if the other signatory isn’t living up to the agreement, federal officials say.
The twin-ramp boat launch at Adolph Thomae is by far the busiest on the Lower Laguna Madre, with Port Mansfield’s state ramp a distant second. The county has operated Thomae Park for 30 years, but that doesn’t mean it will continue to do so, federal officials say.
Blihovde said recently USFWS would prefer not to back out of the lease, but it was exploring the possibility of a deal with a private concessionaire which would operate the park, or some of the park, and also provide security services.
That development would mean the park would stay open, but the county would lose all or part of the revenues it receives from park visitors. Those revenues presumably would be split between the new concessionaire and the USFWS, the exact proportions to be determined by any contract signed.
The USFWS charges the county nothing for the current 50-year lease.
The federal wildlife agency established the concession program in 2001. The program allows the public access to specific lands within the National Wildlife Refuge System but contracts out services on those lands to an outside entity.
“The only unresolved concern from the USFWS revolves around managing summer crowds by initiating a maximum capacity on daily attendance, and getting the county to provide the law enforcement to uphold it and other park rules,” Blihovde said yesterday via email.
“We agree, that when it comes to park infrastructure, the county has made great strides at improving Adolph Thomae Park,” Blihovde added.
County officials highlighted some of those improvements in their statement, talking about the new boat launch and parking, the new toll collection system, installation of new playground equipment, revamping the fishing piers to make them ADA-accessible and improving about 2,000 feet of shoreline.
“Cameron County Parks and Recreation Department’s goal is to continue making the necessary improvements to Adolph Thomae Park in order to make the park a safer place and most important improve the quality of life for the residents of Cameron County and other visitors,” said Vega, the county parks director.
