ODNR diverts money intended for Lake Hope lodge replacement | T...

I am a regular visitor to the Lake Hope area and while I never stayed at the lodge, I was saddened when I learned about its demise. Vinton County doesn't have a lot going for it aside from the natural beauty of the Zalesky Forest and Lake Hope State Park.

Lost in this discussion is that people in the area and regular visitors such as myself have donated money to facilitate the construction of a new lodge that will do justice to the old one. By diverting funds, the state has diminished those philanthropic endeavors.

What infuriates me is that a lot of the problems the ODNR has with balancing its budget are tied directly to poor management decisions. Running an excessive amount of electicity through the campgrounds and rasing fees have chased away the primitive campers who used to fill the parks. A lot of us don't use the electricity but if we camp we often have to pay for it, sometimes as much as $30 a night.

For years I couldn't figure out why the state didn't put out honor boxes where visitors could voluntarily pay a day use fee if they felt so inclined. I would have happily dropped five bucks in whenver I parked near a trail head and others would have as well.

Now we're at a point where serious consideration should be given to charging day use fees, but the state doesn't want to offended anybody. They tell us there are our parks and we shouldn't have to pay for them. But yet they'll divert funds that were intended to rebuild a popular lodge.

i understand that people in the are will be angry because funds were diverted.however what good is a brand new garge if the house is in foreclosure?

oops,,typo garage

just another screwing by our great ohio goverment

The state needs to reconsider the parking tax they considered 3 or 4 years ago , the one they changed their minds on at the last minute .
Hikers , bird watchers ,etc, need to help support state outdoor facilities and pay their fair share, such as hunter and fishing license do now !

More example of stealing from Peter to pay Paul. We passed tax for parks and stuff. These jerks.

This is a TRAVESTY!!! My roof was damaged during Hurricane Ike. The insurance company cut me a check for a full roof replacement. What did I use the money for? A FULL ROOF REPLACEMENT! Duh! They should get that money back and start rebuilding the lodge. NOW!

sounds like a insurance scam, burn the place down, and use the insurance money for other purposes

jimmy agler wrote:

i understand that people in the are will be angry because funds were diverted.however what good is a brand new garge if the house is in foreclosure?

A brand new garage doesn't generate revenue. A lodge does. People stay at lodges. They book weddings there, hold conferences, even rent out rooms for parties.

Lake Hope doesn't get a lot from the state. ODNR funnels money to places like Salt Fork, Maumee and Alum Creek, but Lake Hope often gets ignored. Many the the extras you see at Lake Hope are funded entirely through voluntary contributions. Now the state isn't just ignoring one of its most popular parks, it's witholding money that this park was counting on. That means fewer visitors to the area, less money spent in Vinton county and fewer jobs. Your garage analogy is not only stupid, but offensive.

Linda wrote:

More example of stealing from Peter to pay Paul. We passed tax for parks and stuff. These jerks.

There has not been any tax passed that pays for state parks, forests, or nature preserves. The money ODNR uses comes from the general fund (from income tax...). Perhaps there should be.

who knows if that lodge will ever get built now

it's not exactly looking like state finances will be better in 2012 than they are now

I'd like to give a "shout out" to Van Jones and his great efforts at getting prisoners to be work released at community groups like ACORN. Don't worry they're just criminals, and these non-profits are not violent.

Now, this budget shortfall was George Bush's fault.

liberal AND proud wrote:

This is a TRAVESTY!!! My roof was damaged during Hurricane Ike. The insurance company cut me a check for a full roof replacement. What did I use the money for? A FULL ROOF REPLACEMENT! Duh! They should get that money back and start rebuilding the lodge. NOW!

Our roof and siding was damaged by a hale storm, and our insurance company paid half up front and the 2nd half after the work was completed just to make sure the money went for a new roof and siding. If the work was not completed we never would have received the 2nd half. How does the state get away with this. This is also another reason I no longer give the odd dollars from our state tax return due to the account being raided many times to balance the budget. If it is given for our parks it needs to go to the parks. shame on the ODNR

Put a casino in Vinton County

If our illustrious outdoors man and chief Governor Strickland knew of this and approved it than he just lost my vote. It would be another example of poor fiscal allocation in an already mismanaged state agency.

Hope you find out who decided to dip into your future. Probably some one wanted to look good for their county, we need to vote out these people who have no ethics.

You know if state workers had did'nt have all the perks, like veterans day off,(the rest of us had to work, I'm a vet) the state could possibly save a few mil a year. How many employees does the state have? 1 paid holiday = a whole lot of money. Oh I forgot the taxpayers foot the bill, sorry.

Whats going to happen is odnr will burn more of its stuff down a collect the insurance settlement to pay other things like new cars and atv's. you see them driving around. because the cant keep there budget strait its the public fault

Commissioner Zinn:

If YOU had $5 million, would YOU invest it in new lodge construction?

It's not 1955. State park lodges don't make money anymore.

You simply want the taxpayers across Ohio to subsidize Vinton County.

If you DID want to invest in a lodge, I wouldn't want you managing MY money.

there we go again stick it to good ole vinton county. that money is likely to be used to build something in franklin county.