Gabrielle Russon
Even though the public clearly loves parks, the House and the Senate haven’t reached an agreement on how much to invest in them during the upcoming fiscal year.
Missing in the budget conference spreadsheet is a line item for the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP), which provides grants for local parks across Florida.
“FRDAP was in our last offer and it wasn’t matched so it has been bumped. On state parks, we offered $19M in land management ($5M in GR and $14M in trust funds). That issue is also bumped,” Sen. Jason Brodeur said in a statement when reached for comment Friday before budget talks resume this weekend.
The Sanford Republican chairs the Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government.
The FRDAP grants give “financial assistance for acquisition or development of land for public outdoor recreation,” according to the state’s website. “Eligible participants include all county governments, municipalities in Florida and other legally constituted local governmental entities with the responsibility for providing outdoor recreational sites and facilities for the general public.”
Parks supporters told POLITICO this week they are concerned the state isn’t spending enough to take care of the parks and could cut vacant positions in the Florida Park Service.
“Why would you spend money on building pickleball courts when you’ve already got a long list of facilities, of buildings, that need repairs?” former State Parks Director Eric Draper told the outlet.
POLITICO reported that Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Alexandra Kuchta countered back and pointed to budget figures that showed the state increasing fixed capital outlay for state parks from about $17 million in Fiscal Year 2018-19 to $72 million in Fiscal Year 2024-25.
But in one victory for park advocates, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation last month to protect state parks from being developed to build hotels, golf courses and pickleball courts. The Tampa Bay Times broke the story last year that DeSantis’ administration was proposing new development in state parks. The news sparked a massive public outcry and politicians — including Republicans — pushed back.
